I thought I would pass this on.. I do not know where I got it, but its not my work. I hope this helps some of you with questions. Ive learned alot in the last week about copyright so if any should have questions, feel free to email me privately :) Traci Parsons-Holder [email protected] Top 10 Things You Should Know Before Using or Copying a Protected Work 10.A copyright claimed after January 1, 1978, lasts as long as the person who created it lives and then another fifty years. A company's copyright lasts seventy-five years from its publication or one hundred years from its creation, whichever date occurs sooner. 9.If a copyrighted work was publicly distributed more than seventy-five years ago, you can probably assume that it is in the public domain, and not protected by a copyright. But when it comes to singing Happy Birthday, be forewarned: it's still copyrighted! 8.You can make tapes from compact-disk recordings for your own personal use. You cannot make multiple copies and give them to your friends. 7.The creator of a "work for hire" is not entitled to copyright protection. So if you're ghosting for somebody, you're out of luck, but . . . 6.If you and the person who hired you do not have a written agreement that explicitly states that your work will be a work for hire you may have a copyright claim anyway. 5.A copyright is secured automatically when the work is first created and fixed in some kind of permanent form that may be perceived through the sense of sight or hearing. 4.You can't copyright an idea. 3.There may be a reason why you can't get that catchy tune out of your head. 2.Copying somebody else's work is plagiarism. Plagiarism will make you look like you're either lazy or a jerk. Plagiarism is not necessarily a copyright violation. 1.If you copy somebody else's protected work, you could get sued and have to pay the owner the amount he or she actually lost because of the infringement, or $10,000 for each time you violated the owner's rights, and pay his or her attorney's fees.