<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by chrome:
I am starting a website. Now I was wondering a little something about copyright issues:
Say if I download an image on a website, that is a free website and makes no claims of ownership or copyright of the image, can I download and use this image myself? Or if someone posts a picture on a message board that has no claims of copyright in the message or on the picture, can I use it?
example, say I download a Wayne Gretzky pic with no copyright or claims of ownership anywhere I can find, can I use it on my wayne gretzky site?
thanks!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
My response:
Under Federal copyright law, once something has been posted or printed, on the Internet, in books, or anywhere else, it's automatically copyrighted. You no longer need to have a formal registration for a copyright. You may use certain materials with EXPRESS permission to do so. Without such permission, you are exposing yourself to a lawsuit. If you are writing something, for example, an expose' on Hockey, you may use a picture or a short squib of someone else's writings under the "Fair Use Doctrine" to use as an example of what you are trying to convey. The original writer or photographer owns the copyright to such materials, and you'd better get permission first.
IAAL
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