Fair warning \u2013 in most cases this content will be protected by copyright even if there is no copyright notice, and you will need a license or a valid claim of fair use to use it, or face a possible copyright infringement claim that could result in liability of up to $150,000 in damages.<\/span><\/p>\n The Rule of Automatic Copyright<\/b><\/p>\n The key to understanding why most content on the Web is copyright protected, even if it doesn\u2019t have a copyright notice, is sometimes referred to as \u201cThe Rule of Automatic Copyright\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n How copyrights are created is really simple, and that\u2019s why it\u2019s so often misunderstood. The Copyright Act says that a work is created when it is \u201cfixed in a tangible medium of expression\u201d. This means that a copyrightable work of authorship is created when pen hits paper, or keystrokes are recorded into the RAM of a computer, or video is recorded. <\/span><\/p>\n So, the fundamental rule is that copyrights are created automatically when an original work of authorship is fixed; no registration, copyright notice, or other act is required. And the copyrights remain with the author of the work. The copyright owner then controls to what extent another person can use the material \u2013 the rights to copy, modify (create derivative works), distribute, display, and perform the work. <\/span><\/p>\n And very important, if you use any exclusive materials without permission (a license) or a valid claim of fair use, you\u2019re a copyright infringer subjecting you to claims for damages, in addition to other remedies.<\/span><\/p>\n What Is Fair Use?<\/b><\/p>\n Fair use is a basic principle of copyright law that says that the general public may use certain portions of a copyrighted work without a license from the copyright owner, provided the use is for purposes such as commentary, criticism, search engines, news reporting, research, teaching, library archiving or scholarship.<\/span><\/p>\n The catch is that if the copyright owner disagrees with the validity of your fair use claim, you may have a copyright infringement lawsuit on your hands. <\/span><\/p>\n To determine whether you have valid claim of fair use, four factors must be considered:<\/span><\/p>\n The process of weighing and applying these four factors is fact intensive, and there is no bright line test. For example, with the first factor, a key question that weighs in favor of fair use is whether you have transformed the portion of the original work by adding new expression or meaning, such as with a parody, or by adding independently created images to quotes taken from a copyrighted article or speech.<\/span><\/p>\n Probably the most significant of the four factors in the context of use in connection with promotional material for your business is the fourth factor \u2013 the effect on the potential market for the copyrighted work.<\/span><\/p>\n One final tip \u2013 don\u2019t fall into the trap of believing that if you acknowledge the copyright owner of the source material, your use is a fair use. On the one hand, acknowledgement may be a point to consider in weighing the four factors, but in and of itself it won\u2019t protect against an infringement claim. And what\u2019s even worse, it may even create additional legal claims involving infringement of privacy rights.<\/span><\/p>\n Conclusion<\/b><\/p>\n Bottom line, it\u2019s very risky to freely use your right click to download stuff off the Web. Copyrights to Images, text, and videos are almost always vested in someone. And the fair use defense to copyright infringement is very limited in scope, and generally poorly adapted for use with your business.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s always best to get a license. That\u2019s the only way to be sure that you\u2019ll not be facing a copyright infringement claim and a possible claim of up to $150,000 per work<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n By now it should be clear how important it is for you to be FTC compliant. But how can you do that without spending $7,500-$8,000 or more on Internet Attorneys?<\/p>\n Smart business owners around the world are doing it with the help of FTC Guardian.<\/p>\n FTC Guardian is a service that is 100% focused on helping to keep you get and stay FTC compliant and fully protected.\u00a0And right now, we are offering a free training to give you the knowledge, information, and guidance that you need to stay out of trouble with the Federal Trade Commission.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"\/images\/button_banner-SDLM.png\")
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