How do we deal with copyright on Web 2.0?

"One issue with web 2.0 copyright infringement is that most of the offenders do not even realize what they are doing or that it is wrong. The popularity of blogging and the ease at which articles and images can be passed around have made it very simple to inadvertently commit copyright infringement.

Many new bloggers do not even realize that articles and pictures found on the Internet are often protected by copyright. And they often struggle with the proper etiquette for using an article or picture."

Nations, Daniel. "Copyright Infringement--The Dark Side of Web 2.0," About.comhttp://webtrends.about.com/od/web20/a/web20-copyright.htm>.

What is protected on the WWW?
The unique underlying design of a Web page and its contents, including:
--links
--original text graphics
--audio
--video
--html
--vrml
--other unique markup language sequences
--List of Web sites compiled by an individual or organization
--all other unique elements that make up the original nature of the material. Read more...
    United States copyright law covers the internet and digital information. At this point it would be better if the law was more specific, but amending and changing the law takes a long time. In order to better understand copyright please click on the link below to read The Educator's Guide to Copyright and Fair Use.
    Copyright law is confusing. Many educators mistakenly believe that Fair Use provisions give them exemption from following copyright protocols. Check out the following website to read about other myths about copyright.

    Brad Templeton's 10 Big Myths about copyright explained http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html

    Creative Commons
    Because Web 2.0 is by nature collaborative, the lack of material in the Public Domain that is free for people to build ideas upon has been greatly reduced. In 2001 Creative Commons was founded with support from the Center for the Public Domain to provide a way for those who create to share their work to further the development of ideas and creativity while still maintaining copyright priviledges. To find out more about Creative Commons, click on the link below:



    To get a visual introduction check out any or all of the items below, found on Creative Commons:






    Creative Commons Starring Mayer and Bettle: A more recent production from Australia that illustrates sharing music.