Copyrights in Online Content
-Dr. Lalit Kumar Setia
Everyone is marketing his/her content online and most of the content is
being developed using android apps and the latest tools of software on laptops.
But it is a must to care about the legal framework of copyrights while creating
and disseminating the content online. How to avoid copyrights and stay free
from legal issues?
Writing Original Content
It is seen most of the time that people start copying and pasting content
from others’ written articles and data. It can put people in trouble
because the content which is taken from copy and paste may be copyrighted. In
case, the content is taken from any other webpage, it is a must to give a reference to the page so that there is no copyright infringement.
Designing original images
It is common that google is used to download the available images on
the internet. Whoever designed the image and put it online, is the real owner
of the created image. The creative commons license is used to prove the
ownership of the images without spending a single penny. It is a must to take
permission from the real owner of any image is taken from the internet for using
the written content.
Polite language without making
criticisms
Always write after thinking twice about whether it will hurt the readers or
not. In case, there are possibilities that people will feel hurt from reading
the content, it is better not to upload it as an article. The statements should
not only be grammatically correct but also be polite to win the heart of others.
A person reading your content should enjoy the reading and learn new skills
from it.
Facts should be right and accurate
Whatever is given in the content, should contain the facts taken from
the trusted portals and websites either of Government or commercial
organizations. Never take content whose source is doubtful. There are websites
that are making everyone confused with giving wrong details and such details
are also being changed at regular intervals. Beware of such data and never use
such data in your original content.
Respect the Intellectual Rights of
others on Copyrighted content
In this age of technology, everyone has the right to maintain intellectual
rights on the content that originated from their mind. Innovation and creativity
are art and not everyone is equipped with this art. The original author has
copyrights, the exclusive right to use created original content for his/her own
purpose. Everyone should respect the intellectual rights of others and take
permission from others if it is required to use the same for his/her own
purpose. The compositions of music are copyrighted by the persons who compose
them. The books are copyrighted by the authors so that no one others can copy the
content originally written by them. The images created by painters and
games developed by the programmers are also copyrighted. If you are taking
permissions and referring to the sources of others in the right way, then it is your
respect for their copyrights.
The lawful way for using and transferring
copyrights
Since the copyrights are inherent in everything which is originally
created by a person, it is very difficult to get rights from others for using
their copyrighted content in a lawful manner. One way is to organize surveys
and get the information filled in various questions and then use it for own
purpose, that is considered originally and since the respondents responded with
their desire, there is no copyright of the respondents on their responses.
Secondly, it is possible to have a license from the owner of the original
copyrighted content, to use the content by paying him/her a royalty. Thirdly,
the owner of the content may be hired and then asked to develop the original
content for you; the content developed by an employee can be used by the
employer.
Methods for protecting the original
content on the Internet
Whenever the original content is used to upload as text on a webpage,
the owner should add a copyright policy on the webpage and if the owner found
anyone using his/her original content without permission, he/she should send a
notice to such person, so that it should not happen again. It is worth knowing
that an owner retains the copyrights on original content up to 60 years after
his/her death.
No infringement if the content is used
for some specific purposes
The people are worried about their life and content are written to inspire
the people to be motivated and do good work; for this purpose, if any
motivational content is used by any person, then it cannot be considered as an
infringement, however, it is a must to give reference of the content (for
example, courtesy of ‘original writer and source’). Secondly, in case, content
is being used for academic purposes to educate others, cannot be considered as
infringement if credit is given to the original author or owner of the content
used. However, it is a must to ensure fair use of copyrighted material means
the use of copyrighted material by someone should not negatively affect the
earnings of the copyright owner and he/she should earn well instead of its use
by anyone that is why it is required to refer.
Lawsuit of Pearson on Chegg
Recently, a popular company Chegg
started its subscription study service which covered to have answers to the
questions provided in the textbooks by paying $14.95 monthly. The questions
were given in the textbook published by Pearson. On 13th September
2021, Pearson filed a complaint in a court accusing Chegg of illegally giving
answer sets to its textbook questions and it is his right to give the answer
sets. Chegg answered that Pearson’s textbook copyrights do not grant it a
monopoly over the right to solve an end-of-chapter problem. The details are
available on this link - https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/copyright/article/87974-chegg-responds-to-pearson-copyright-lawsuit.html
References
*Copyright © 2021 Dr. Lalit Kumar. All rights reserved.
This content is written by Dr. Lalit Kumar Setia; a renowned author and trainer. He completed his Doctorate in Commerce from Kurukshetra University Kurukshetra and MBA in Information Technology from GJU, Hisar. He also wrote two books, 15 research papers, and organized more than 200 Training Courses during his working period since 2006 in Haryana Institute of Public Administration, Gurugram. The article is published on 23rd November 2021, and last updated on 21st November 2021. The writer can be contacted on lalitkumarsetia@gmail.com
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