Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
artist, or musician. For example, Apple has developed an “ITunes
Music Store” that allows you to download individual songs as you
wish—for a modest price. Although these songs are under copyright
protection, Apple has agreements with musicians or their represen
tatives to distribute the materials, and this allows you to download
them legally for your own use.
On the other hand, copyright also prevents the widespread
copying and distribution of works without permission. For exam
ple, court rulings in the Napster case suggest that you cannot down
load songs for your personal use, if that distribution is being done
on a wide scale.
materials I wish on my Web pages and in e-mail?
It is a common misconception that
fair use
implies free use; fair
use is an imprecise term that depends upon court interpretations in
many circumstances. If you need specific legal advice, you will need
to consult a lawyer regarding current legislation and case law; this
book does not claim to give you direct legal opinions. However, for
the most part,
fair use
allows you to make a personal copy of an
item for your own use, but you may not distribute the material fur
ther. In addition, short parts of a work may be cited for such uses
as education, research, criticism, and parody. Thus, you normally
may read, print, and enjoy material that you find on the Web or
that you obtain via email. You also can include short quotes from
a work (appropriately cited) as part of a research paper.
However, material created by others is still owned by its creator.
Unless you know you have the permission of the copyright owner,
you are not allowed to distribute the information. Because placing
material on the Web or sending material through email involves dis
tribution, such actions, without permission, violate copyright laws.
materials?
Some materials say explicitly that they may be distributed freely
under various circumstances. In such cases, of course, the creator
