What is Copyright? Long ago, our forefathers intent for the future of the American culture wasÝto continually stimulate new creative works. They wisely saw a land without creative innovation was indeed a cultural wasteland. The U.S. Constitution makes a provision for respecting copyright: (United States Constitution, Article I, Section 8.8) "The Congress shall have Power ... To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries". Copyright is the single greatest protection artists, photographers, architects, musicians etc. have to control the use of, and to profit from the fruits of their creative efforts, and to enforce claims. Copyright is not intended to stifle the sharing of information, merely to guarantee the creators ownership. It is a federal law, not state law. Consequently, the law is uniform throughout the United States. Through several international copyright agreements, copyright protection is effective essentially all over the world. How does Copyright relate to me? Ownership of a book, manuscript, painting, photograph etc. does not give any ëright' to copy or to use the work other than for personal use. Even if you commission an original portrait, you would only be able to frame and display the work. Without permission, you cannot even make a holiday card from the painting. Similarly, no one can photocopy an entire book without violating the copyright owner's exclusive rights in the work. In fact, radio stations and jukebox operators have to purchase licenses to broadcast or play music even if they own the records they are using. End-users of copyrighted material have the legal responsibility to obtain permission to use the work before doing so, and this permission is granted with a usage license from the copyright holder. How Do I Get Permission To Use A Copyrighted Work? Permission to use a copyrighted work is called a "license". A usage license must be obtained from the owner of the copyright prior to using the work. The license can be oral or written. A simple letter or invoice is usually sufficient. The usage license grants a certain user the right to use a work in a certain way, in a certain place, for a certain period of time. A license for a photograph should specifically state who the user is, how large the image may be used, how many times, in what specific media format(s), and for how long. Any uses not specifically granted in a license remain with the copyright holder, by law. Copyright Infringement Making a substantially similar copy of someone's copyrighted image without permission constitutes copyright infringement. Even the simple act of photocopying a copyrighted image without permission can be an infringement. When there is an infringement, the owner of the copyright can sue for damages. All lawsuits for copyright infringement are brought in federal court, not state court. The penalties for infringement are substantial. A lobbying group in Washington recently released "The Net Surfer's Simple Guide to Copyrights", which distills U.S. copyright law into five maxims: If you didn't create a written work, art, photograph, or music, or obtain distribution rights to it, you don't own it. If you don't own it, you can't copy or distribute it. The author or owner must explicitly relinquish rights for a work to be placed in the public domain. Fair use allows copying of small portions of a work without the owner's permission, but only for criticism, education, and news reporting. When in doubt, ask for permission to use a work."