How to Avoid Copyright Infringement

Is It Worth the Trouble?

Let’s start off by taking a look at what the copyright infringement definition actually covers. According to Wikipedia’s definition, “Copyright infringement (colloquially referred to as piracy) is the unlawful use of works protected by copyright law without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, such as the right to reproduce, distribute, display or perform the protected work, or to make derivative works. The copyright holder is typically the work’s creator, or a publisher or other business to whom copyright has been assigned. Copyright holders routinely invoke legal and technological measures to prevent and penalize copyright infringement.”

It is illegal to use someone else’s work without their express permission even if the work does not bear this symbol. (Image Credit: Myra Naito)

That’s a lot of words to basically say that copyright infringement is the taking of someone else’s work to either claim as your own or use for your own financial gain without the permission of the creator. In other words, using an image someone else created on your website (without their permission), especially if there is the potential of driving some sort of sales, is a copyright infringement. It’s called intellectual property. In general, registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a…