Who owns what?

• The author is usually the owner. (How is "owner" defined?)
  
  • Except when the work-for-hire rules apply: The author's employer owns work(s)
    
    • created by an employee within the scope of employment, or
    • that fall within one or more of the nine statutory categories, where the agreement commissioning the work is documented in writing and signed by the author before work begins
      
      • The nine statutory categories include: contribution to a collective work; part of a movie or other audiovisual work; a translation; a supplementary work; a compilation; an instructional text; a test; answer material for a test; or an atlas
  • If a work does not fit within the statutory definition of a work-for-hire, the employer may still own it if it is created pursuant to a contract with an assignment of copyright.
    
  • An author-owner is free to assign copyright to anyone, so a written contract can change these basic rules.
    
    • Many publishers require assignment of copyright as a condition of publication.
      
  
  

What about stuff on the web? Things on web pages are open to everyone, right?

Wrong! Publication on the Web/Internet, from a legal standpoint, is really no different from publication in the traditional print or broadcast formats. Many newspapers, magazines, television networks and other news and entertainment organizations have websites that complement their more traditional offline media.

In some case commercial magazines and/or news sources are published exclusively on the Web. Just because it is being published to the Web doesn't mean the company wants to be commercially exploited of their intellectual property. They're just as entitled to the protection of the copyright laws.

Music... what about MP3? Are they illegal... can I download them legally?

Some MP3s can be legally obtained through online subscription services or from websites officially permitted by the copyright holders to offer certain MP3 downloads. Some are copyright free. Most MP3s don't fall into either category, however.

MP3 files are completely legal, but it's illegal to have MP3s of music recordings that you don't already own, or to which you haven't obtained the rights. In almost all cases, sharing MP3s over the campus network is definitely illegal.

Ok, so I can't download or copy it... can I link right to content I want on their page in their website?

It's true that "hyperlinking" between websites is one of the Web's most useful characteristics, and that there is a general presumption of open access, by anyone, to any page that someone has posted on the Web. Nonetheless, if you link to one of the "internal" pages or content items on another website, you might be bypassing paid advertising that appears on the website's opening or "home" page.

The owner of the website as well as any advertisers could lose revenue which may make them unhappy, and may even have the legal right to prevent you from doing that. Some website owners also resent being linked to by people or organizations whose political or moral beliefs they find offensive.

At the risk of sounding repetitive, the best policy is first to ask the owner of a website whether he/she has any objection to your providing a link to his/her on your page. Odds are, he/she will be more than happy, and at the same time, you'll have protected yourself.