The ten myths about copyright protection:

1. If something is found on the internet it can be used freely

False, if something is pulled from the internet it enjoys the same protections that any other literary work would enjoy. This means that without the author's specific permission the work may not be used in whole or in part. Even if the article is posted on a site denoted as a public domain site it does not mean that the article may be pulled and used.

2. If you aren't making money it does not violate copyright laws

False, it does not matter if you stand to make a profit from the exploitation of someone else's work. Whether or not you stand to make a profit it is the right of the original author to give permission or not regarding their creation.

3. If something isn't registered with the copyright office it isn't copyrighted

Technically false. The standards of the Berne copyright convention makes any original work copyrighted upon it's creation. There are certain advantages to having your work registered with the copyright office. It is far easier to prove the date of the creation of your work if you have the dated paperwork from the copyright process. This does not mean that if a work is not registered with the copyright office it is fair game and cannot be proven.

4. I am free to use something because it is Fair Use

It depends on what you are trying to do. Fair Use was designed to allow for commentary, satire and criticism. This means that you can directly quote from someone's work if the use of the quote is to provide your opinion on the work. Fair use also allows for individual to spoof on someone else's work and allows for similarities between two individual works.

5. I am free to make my own work based of off someone else's work

False, copyright protection strictly forbids derivative works and allows only the original author to create a derivative version of his/her own work.

6. I only copied part of an article so I am fine

False, the only reason that you can directly copy any part of an original work into you work is under the fair use guidelines. This means quoting directly into your article is permissible if you are making a commentary on the original work. When doing this it is best to give the original creator credit and not to use anymore of the original work than is necessary to make your commentary.

7. It wasn't marked copyright so it is part of the public domain
False, according to the Berne copyright convention copyright occurs when the original work is created and cannot be used without the express permission of the creator. Public Domain refers to works that have expired copyrights, which vary from work to work. Public domain generally refers to works created prior to 1928. Any work created after 1928 and before 1963 it has an automatic copyright of 28 years, which can be renewed for a total of 67 years. From 1964 to 1977 it has a copyright for 95 years from date of creation. From 1978 to present day the copyrights start at 70 years from the date of creation and will expire depending on the death of the author.

8. One of my employees created it so I am the copyright owner

Not necessarily, you are only the copyright owner if the work was made for hire. One of your employees can create a work and it would not be necessarily yours unless it can be proven to be a work made for hire. In other words there needs to be a work made for hire contract or the work can be shown to have been made in the course of employment specifically at your request.

9. Violating a copyright isn't really illegal

False, depending on the seriousness of the infringement and whether there can be a monetary loss shown be the original creator copyright infringement can be treated as a criminal offense.

10. No one sues over copyright violations

False, there are several large copyright infringement cases in process right now and a suit against MP3.com was settled for a total of $53.4 million.