Given the yesterday's hub-bub about Xelf's article that was stolen off his page and Grimtaash.com's threats of a law-suit, I spent some time on the Internet looking for answers to questions about what is and is not protected on the Web. Although I found statutes and pending legislation, there weren't any clear-cut answers. So I went to an expert - Prof Dave Carlson of the University of Florida's College of Journalism and Communications, an internationally recognized expert on electronic publishing.
Here's the results of our e-mail question/answer session.
Question: Is original material (articles, short-stories, etc) posted on personal home Web pages protected by copyright laws (realizing that enforcement is another issue entirely)?
Answer:It depends on whether the author has posted a copyright notice. All one has to do is say: "Copyright 1998 MaryGail Dufresne" and that is an enforceable copyright.
Question:Is there a special process one must go through to protect the material on his or her page?
Answer:See above, but for SERIOUS protection, one needs to actually print a version out and send it to the U.S. Copyright Office in D.C. with a fee (I think it's $25)
Question:How should a person go about documenting the fact that he or she is indeed the author of original material that is only published on the Internet?
Answer:You really don't have to document it unless someone is accusing you of copyright infringement. Otherwise, just protect yourself with the copyright notice mentioned above.
Question:Is there any kind of protection relating to what people send you in e-mail(ie. if I send someone a personal e-mail, are they free to post the message on the Web if they so choose?
Answer:Unless you have said on the message that it is copyrighted, they can legally do whatever they want. Ethically, they should not post the message without asking your permission, though.
Question: Is it legal to copy sections of original material published of the Web as long as the original author is given proper credit for the work?
Answer:No. If it is copyrighted material, you must get the copyright holder's permission (and probably pay them something) for the right to reproduce the material. If it's not copyrighted, you can legally reproduce it, but it is not ethically correct to do so.
Thats' the end of the interview. As a final note, I looked up the federal copyright laws (Section 102)and found the following definition.
"Subject matter of copyright:
In general (a) Copyright protection subsists, in accordance with this title,
in original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression,
now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced,
or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or
device. Works of authorship include the following categories:
(1) literary works;
(2) musical works, including any accompanying words;
(3) dramatic works, including any accompanying music;
(4) pantomimes and choreographic works;
(5) pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works;
(6) motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
(7) sound recordings; and
(8) architectural works.
(b) In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work. "
According to the definition, a "concept" can't be copyrighted, which I believe gives credibility to the argument that deck designs can't be copyrighted.
I hope this clears things up and is a further warning to those who might have the urge to pad their CCG page with other people's hard work. I'm looking for the URL of the site where I found the copyright law stuff and will have it posted later so y'all can look for yourself.
Queen Jawa