INTERNET COPYRIGHT & THE LAW (& PROTECTION OF WSGF)


I posted this, because now we are writing How To's, Tech Articles, Reviews & the like...

It is of the utmost importance that we only ever use that which is allowed by law, & never misappropriate text, pictures or anything else that we should not.


(5 instances of the word "automotive" removed from the following)

As posted at:
http://crankshaftcoalition.com/forum/showthread.php?s=b8e84adfaf7d82145f4f4974c3ad7f72&t=26

"COPYRIGHT
The greatest legal battles brewing on the net today are those involving intellectual freedom. Considering the popularity of topics such as copyright, fair use, and intellectual property, administrators of online communities are likely to encounter them eventually.
The application of these concepts to online communities raises three distinct concerns:
posting of copyrighted content by users re-purposing of content authored by users distinguishing technical data from copyrightable creative works
Most active online communities contain various posts in which copyrighted material is illegally reproduced, even despite a potential "fair use" defence. This includes copy-pasted text from other websites, or information from offline sources such as print articles or books. Prior to the hardening of online copyright legislation, some websites were even scanning in articles from common offline publications, converting them into downloadable PDF's, and selling them from their websites for profit.
Despite the occasional posting of copyrighted works, an even greater concern is the handling of user-submitted content. When a member of an online community posts information on a forum, how should that information be handled with respect to copyright and intellectual freedom? To limit a website's liability, many standard user-registration forms disclaim responsibility for user-submitted content. While this may provide some protection to operators of online communities, it seems to hinder their right to re-purpose the user-submitted content. For example, what if a forum administrator would like to refine a user's specific post, and convert it into an "article", for publication on the website? The tactic of disclaiming content should be balanced with the need to handle that content for additional publication and distribution.
Finally, online communities face a unique challenge related to the nature of the knowledge that they're exchanging. Much information is technical "fact" -- numbers, specifications, figures, etc. While facts themselves are not copyrightable, collections of facts can be, sometimes. In the world of online tech information, where do single facts become copyrightable collections?"
Online communication is reshaping social and legal standards that have been in place for thousands of years. As new knowledge-sharing practices emerge, their users are encountering resistance from traditional proponents of outdated methods of communication."
As posted at:
http://crankshaftcoalition.com/forum/showthread.php?s=b8e84adfaf7d82145f4f4974c3ad7f72&t=26


What This Means To WSGF

It would appear most prudent that a site's management operate under the assumption that - should any copyrighted information or pictures be hosted, the site's owner(s) would be responsible.

Therefore, if copyright is to be respected, as well as intellectual property rights, one must first obtain permission in writing (email is acceptable) from the copyright holder(s) & then that documentation must be then sent to the management of this site, for safe keeping, in printed form, to face any future queries or challenges.

The use of "off-site" links for pictures & the like, is often necessary.
However, this has the potential to cause & might result in future loss of linked information, pictures etc.
If possible, try to put as much info as possible on our site, respecting the owners' copyrights.

It would be best then, to have important pictures kept on this site, to protect them against future broken or moved links or albums. Contact this site's management about hosting that matterial.

IMPORTANT

PART I
This site's permission must be first obtained and from this site's management BEFORE contacting anyone about using their copyright protected information for use on this site.