Copyright is a very important issue and is especially important in the online world.
In cyberspace, our work is more vulnerable to others to copy, edit, re-use and pass off as their own.. That is a fact, but just because your work is available via the internet doesn't mean that copyright doesn't apply. The laws relating to copyright apply just as much to work on the web as they do to a novel or an chart album. Once you publish something online, be it in a blog, a wiki or a website, you automatically own copyright of your "production". You are also responsible for it and for ensuring that the material you create does not breach anyone else's copyright.
Using images, other type of files or productions of others without their prior consent might mean thet you are breaching copyright law and may be criminally liable. That doesn't mean you can't use something you think useful for your project, but that you should seek the owner's permission first. You will find that many people will be pleased to be asked and flattered that you wish to use their work and so will grant permission to use their work in your projects.
Photo: by Witze
It available for download under a Creative Commons license.
The principle of open access to content is a widely used one in the digital society. Open access doesn't mean that you don't own what you have produced. It just means that you are contributing to the wealth of knowledge available to a wider community, by sharing it with others enabling anyone, anywhere, with access to the Internet to read, download, copy, and distribute your work. By the same token you also benefit from what others may share and give you access to as they publish it on the web.
Many creations online are also already licensed under a scheme run by an organisation called Creative Commons (CC) which aims to expand the amount of original material online available for others to build upon and share. The organization has released several copyright licenses known as Creative Commons licenses. These licenses, restrict specific rights of the work enabling you the opportunity to stipulate the kind of freedom and usability you wish to grant to your audience when using your own work creations. Depending on the licence chosen you can determine the copyright terms from "All Rights Reserved" to "Public Domain."
Thus, we suggest you license your work. Have a look at the Creative Commons License and create the license that you think suits you better.
For a deeper understanding about online copyright, we recommend you take some time to do the JISC online interactive copyright activity
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