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What You Need To Know About Copyrights.

On thing that's often overlooked (especially on the Internet), is the need to respect the Copyrights of others. For instance, did you know that all of these things are protected: Material without a copyright notice. Material that has never been published. Material that hasn't been registered. Email, forum, or newsgroups messages. As of 1989, works are no longer required to display a copyright notice to receive protection. You should assume that all material is owned, and review Statute 17 of the United States Code if in doubt. It's in your best interest to seek permission to use copyrighted material. Although verbal consent is considered valid, if there were a dispute in the future, it would be hard to prove that you actually had permission to use the material. Therefore, we recommend that you always put your request in writing. Just remember, that a copyright protects not only the original work, but all of those that may have been derived from it. If you make changes to copyrighted material, you can not claim it as your own. In fact, you must receive permission from the original holder before even doing so. It would be infringement otherwise.

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