Copyright law and licensing on the Internet
Doghouse – Copyright and Licensing
Despite the common assumption, everything online is not in the public domain.
"But, but, but … I found it on the Internet!" Many people today think that just because the image or text is found on the Internet that it is free to be used or copied, as if the copied item were in the "public domain."
Of course, copyright law (and licensing) is determined by the laws of particular countries. What is law in one country may not apply in another country, but in many cases copyright laws are shared between countries via international agreements. As a rule of thumb, I tend to adhere to the strictest set of laws to protect myself, and the strictest set of laws tends to be from the United States.
The United States is so focused on copyright (and patent) law that they built the beginnings of these laws into their Constitution – the same document that supposedly guarantees the freedoms of US citizens also guarantees the existence of copyrights and patents and sets up a copyright and patent office much sooner in the document than the part guaranteeing freedom of speech.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Linux Mint 22.2 Beta Available for Testing
Some interesting new additions and improvements are coming to Linux Mint. Check out the Linux Mint 22.2 Beta to give it a test run.
-
Debian 13.0 Officially Released
After two years of development, the latest iteration of Debian is now available with plenty of under-the-hood improvements.
-
Upcoming Changes for MXLinux
MXLinux 25 has plenty in store to please all types of users.
-
A New Linux AI Assistant in Town
Newelle, a Linux AI assistant, works with different LLMs and includes document parsing and profiles.
-
Linux Kernel 6.16 Released with Minor Fixes
The latest Linux kernel doesn't really include any big-ticket features, just a lot of lines of code.
-
EU Sovereign Tech Fund Gains Traction
OpenForum Europe recently released a report regarding a sovereign tech fund with backing from several significant entities.
-
FreeBSD Promises a Full Desktop Installer
FreeBSD has lacked an option to include a full desktop environment during installation.
-
Linux Hits an Important Milestone
If you pay attention to the news in the Linux-sphere, you've probably heard that the open source operating system recently crashed through a ceiling no one thought possible.
-
Plasma Bigscreen Returns
A developer discovered that the Plasma Bigscreen feature had been sitting untouched, so he decided to do something about it.
-
CachyOS Now Lets Users Choose Their Shell
Imagine getting the opportunity to select which shell you want during the installation of your favorite Linux distribution. That's now a thing.