Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
change the material in any way. Although such statements may help
these companies in legal actions, it is not clear that such statements
are strictly necessary to make copyright restrictions apply to their
work.
the materials?
No. Although copyright laws may provide for higher penalties
in some cases for commercial violations of copyright materials, the
laws regarding copying apply to both noncommercial and commer
cial uses.
To conclude, copyright laws specify that author, artist, and mu
sician can limit distribution of works as they wish. You normally
can download Web pages and receive emails without trouble, but
copyright laws may limit you from distributing those materials fur
ther. It may be that widespread distribution would provide public
ity that helps sales of various items, but it is up to the creators of the
materials to decide; unless you are the creator, you cannot make
that decision.
The distribution of materials, through the Web, email, or
printed sources, can be limited by ethical, financial, and legal con
siderations. Each factor indicates that unrestricted use and distribu
tion of materials is not appropriate. As an individual using the Web,
you need to be aware of each of these perspectives as you strive to
use the World Wide Web responsibly.
Although the World Wide Web is a wonderful source of much
information, its use has both advantages and limitations.
Any author can post material on the Web, allowing unre
stricted access to ideas without the constraints of sales poten
tial or marketing costs that might concern publishers.
Publishers often review materials carefully for content and
exposition before releasing a work, but readers cannot as
