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Copyright
First of all, it is not mandatory that one uses a copyright notice on his/her web site. There are, however, some advantages in doing so. Even though a copyright notice is usually very simple, using one on your web site can become complicated.
If you ever find that somebody is indecently using your copyrighted works on their web site(s), you shoud file a valid DMCA complaint. It is very important that your DMCA complaint contains all the necessary information and is also written in the proper form. Otherwise, the company you are sending your complaint to (usually the web hosting provider of the infringing web site) may not assist you and may even disregard your DMCA violation report.
The Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act (OCILLA) is a portion of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act known as DMCA 512 or the DMCA takedown provisions. It is a 1998 United States federal law that provided a safe harbor to online service providers (OSPs, including internet service providers) that promptly take down content if someone alleges it infringes their copyrights.
By definition, copyright provides authors with the ability to guard their works from being taken, used, and exploited by others without having explicit permission. The author of a copyrighted work has the exclusive right to reproduce it, distribute copies (e.g. by sale), to display or perform it publicly, to produce derivative works based upon it, and to authorize others to do so. I need to mention, however, that there are some important exceptions and limitations which should also be taken into consideration. “Fair Use” is one such important limitation. This matter will be a subject to another article though.
As we noted in some other posts, copyright law can be tricky for unqualified people. In many cases, when one thinks about copyright, one automatically thinks that copying someone else’s work without permission is illegal by law. It is important to make this clear – copyright law makes it illegal to do many other things and not just copying.
