• Technology has made it easier to violate copyright laws.copyright image by Angie Lingnau from Fotolia.com
  
  Copyright laws existed long before the Internet but cyberspace has made it all too easy to violate them---sometimes without realizing you are doing so. And the penalties can be serious. For example, in 2010, the Las Vegas Sun reported that the Las Vegas Review-Journal was taking action against anyone who infringed on its copyright by posting its news stories on websites. Unlike the Review-Journal, most copyright owners will not immediately take you to court if you infringe their copyright by, for example, uploading their work on your blog or distributing photocopies of it. However, following certain dos and don'ts regarding copyrighted work can save you from such a possibility and ensure you are obeying the law.
  
  

Don't Assume It's OK

• The fact that you are not profiting from uploading or sharing someone else's work online, or performing it for free in front of an audience, does not mean you won't be liable for damages if the copyright owner sues you. Artists, musicians, writers, publishers and other copyright owners often depend on the royalties from sales of the work they own. If you give it away for free, they lose money. Under federal law, if a court finds you guilty of "willful infringement" of copyright, you could be liable for a maximum of $250,000 in statutory fines.
  
  

Do Research

• If you want permission to use someone else's work but don't know who owns the copyright, or if the copyright is still in effect, you can search for the information online at the U.S. Copyright Office's website. The Public Records search covers all registered copyrighted material from 1978 to the present and the search is free.
  
  

Don't Make Derivative Works Without Permission

• Copyright protections include the right of the copyright owner to make "derivative works" from the copyrighted material. The law defines derivative work as "a work based upon one or more preexisting works." If you draw a picture of a copyrighted picture or mix a song and the results are "substantially similar" to the original work, you could be infringing on the copyright owner's rights.
  
  

Do Register Your Own Work

• Although any original work you create is automatically copyrighted, you will be more certain of protection under the law if you register your work with the U.S. Copyright Office. It may seem unnecessary to pay a fee for registration if your work is automatically copyrighted at no cost, but according to intellectual property lawyer Lloyd L. Rich, "in the United States copyright registration is a prerequisite for bringing a copyright infringement lawsuit." You won't be able to seek damages if your work is stolen.