This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright
is the government guarantee of the right to
copy and redistribute (sell), perform (plays) and derive works
(something based on the existing work) any
kind of “intellectual property”. Copyright is important because it
encourages people to be creative and inventive. People want to invest their time
and get a reward back on their hard work whether it be money or credit.
Copyright
takes effect when someone makes a fixed tangible meaning of expression. This
means when you put something physical or fixed, whether it be an article
published or a post on a blog, the protection takes effect immediately. The
protection lasts throughout your life and even 70 years after you die! Now,
after that time span has expired, your work enters the public domain, the copyright
expires and all bets are off. You cannot renew a copyright, but there are
people, like Disney, who are trying to extend how long a copyright is in
effect.
Do
not get copyright infringement and plagiarism confused. Plagiarism is claiming
something as your own, but it will not land you in jail. Copyright infringement
is copying someone’s hard work without their permission and can land you in
jail with a pile of fines. There are ways to use people’s work without getting
pegged with copyright infringement. Fair use allows you to copy safely and it
is lawful as stated clearly in 17 USC section 107.
There are four factors related to fair use:
Purpose
of copying: why are you using it?
Nature
of original work: where did it come from?
Amount
and “substantiality” of copying: how much are you using and what is the core of
the source you are using?
Effect
on market value: Is what you are using a big seller or is it big in the market?
These
are only a few facts on copyright, but you can use these links to learn more:
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/article-30100.html 
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