Copyrighted works include articles, journals, websites, computer programs, photographs, etc. Almost anything that another person creates can be a copyrightable work unless the author or creator insists that it is not.

Just because a website does not have a copyright notice does not mean that the information, graphics or the website itself is not copyright protected. Although it is a good idea for website owners or developer to place a copyright notice on their site, they are not required to in order to be protected by copyright laws.

Companies use tools such as spiders to scan the web for content, graphics and meta-data that is similar to their own. Spiders are what Google and other popular search engines use to also search sites for content. Small businesses that don't have the money to afford spider searches for their content normally have to rely on word of mouth to find a copyright infringement.

Fair use pertains to using works for commentary, or educational purposes. Fair use is good for educators, it allows them to use information, graphics, videos, etc on the web to use to educate their students. If you are a business or someone that is using materials to make a profit you can not make use of the fair use policy.

On this day the rule was passed stating that you no longer have to a copyright notice attached to a body of work for it to be protected by law.

Linking to another persons website is not considered a copyright violation, however since linking helps determine search engine optimization a lot of companies want to know who is linking to their site and for what purpose. It is good practice to ask permission before you link to a site. It is also good practice to place information regarding your own policy for others to link to your site.

Although you can not see meta-tags when you view a site, they are used in search engine optimization when it comes to keywords. Due to this a lot of corporations will use their own companies name within their meta-tags. It is a good idea not to use another companies name within your own keyword tags. It is a copyright violation to copy another sites meta-tag information word for word.

The Teach Act is a law that was passed in 2002 that allows schools to more easily obtain media online, such as graphics, content and multimedia without having to ask for permission from the original author of the work.

Students are allowed to use copyrighted material at home for school projects or coursework without requesting permission from the author of the work. However the use of the work is limited to school work, and can not be used for work that will be presented to the public.

This is an online resource created by the libraries of North Carolina State University how recent changes in the law regarding copyrights affects teachers and students pertaining to online learning.