Hello Fellow Classmates, The societal issue I chose to write about is copyright as it pertains to the Internet. Copyright, as set forth in Article 1, section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, is designed ?To Promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.? Congress passed the Copyright Act of 1976, which defines the rights associated with ?original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device?. The emphasis on ?on later developed? is mine; obviously, this part of the phrase would cover works on the Internet. In 1999, the Copyright Act was amended to cover Internet works with the enactment of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMCA. Web pages, according to the author of our textbook, are considered to be copyrighted by default; but registering with the U.S. Copyright Office Web site is a good idea. Having a copyright registered will help if you ever need to take legal action to defend it. On the Copyright website are instructions and downloadable application forms (http://www.copyright.gov). Download the appropriate form and send it along with a printout of the work and the registration fee to the Library of Congress Copyright Office at the address supplied. The Interlit Web site contains some useful copyright links under Chapter 25 (http://www.udel.edu/interlit/chapter25.html). One is a Copyright Crash Course http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/cprtindx.htm, which is a short tutorial designed to help the user easily determine what is copyrighted when using or creating works. The other is ?A Visit To Copyright Bay? (http://www.stfrancis.edu/cid/copyrightbay/), designed for educators who need to know what can and can?t be considered ?fair use?. Fair Use is a section of the Copyright Law that allows educators, news reporters and researchers to use copyrighted works within certain guidelines. Claudia Ottinger ckottinger@xxxxxxxxx >^..^< http://www.myspace.com/claudiathecatlady "Dogs come when you call. Cats take a message and get back to you later." --------------------------------- Expecting? Get great news right away with email Auto-Check. Try the Yahoo! Mail Beta.