Internet and Copyright Infringment

When using anything from the Internet in one's own work, an image to be more specific, there are risks involved concerning copyright laws. These risks may include not citing a source or not asking the creator permission to use his or her work. An other's work may be used without permission under two general circumstances: when the work is being commented on and when the work is being summarized in reporting. However, in these instances there must be some sort of credit given to the original creator, rather than the information being adopted as the secondary party's own work. There are times when work can be used without citing the source or asking for permission to use it. This is the case when a work is in the public domain or when the information is supplied by the government. The public domain includes all government works and works specifically given to the public domain by the creator. Some older works are included as well, but caution must be used when determining whether an old work is in the public domain or not because sometimes it is difficult to be sure. Finally, there are times when using someone else's work must be preceded by the creator giving specific, written permission. If the use of someone else's work is premeditated rather than relatively spontaneous, permission is required. This means that if use of a work is planned in far enough advance to acquire permission, then it must be acquired. These are guidelines for when a work can be used without permission, with citation, and with permission.