Karen Brown Tyson

5 Copyright myths Myth 1 2 3 Fact Use of copyright protected work for educational or training purposes is always permitted as an exception to copyright protection. In those countries that recognize exceptions to copyright protection (and not all countries do), these exceptions generally do not apply to commercial organisations. It is safe to assume that use of copyright protected materials will not be permitted simply because there may be some educational or informational aspect to the use. If a work is publically available on the Internet, then it is in the public domain. Publically available does not mean public domain. “Public domain” refers to the fact that the work is not or is no longer protected by copyright – not whether or not the work is publically available or accessible. Any work found on the Internet may be protected by copyright and protection should be assumed until proven otherwise. It is okay to use copyright protected works without permission as long as it is for internal use. Even internal uses can infringe copyrights. Indeed, there is no legal distinction between internal and external use of a work. Although purely internal use may impact the extent and nature of the damages claimed, as well as the likelihood of detection in the first place, this does not negate the fact that permission must be obtained before using another person’s work. In addition, there is always the possibility that that materials that were originally intended only for internal use may end up being used externally. 4 5 If a work is properly cited or credited to the owner, then it can be used without the author’s permission. While it is always a good idea to credit the original source of a work, attribution is not a substitute for permission to use the material and will not avoid the risk of infringement. A work must be registered with a copyright office (or a copyright notice has to be attached) to enjoy copyright protection. Once a work is created in a fixed form, such as written down or recorded, it automatically enjoys copyright protection. It may be more difficult for the copyright holder to prove ownership if they have not registered the work or if a copyright statement or notice is not attached, but that does not mean the work can be used without permission. For more information about copyright, visit INSERT URL and take Copyright for Business training in your learning platform. August 2017