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What is copyright infringement What Is Copyright Infringement? The Layperson's Copyright Primer Copyright laws are constantly changing, and knowing exactly what copyright infringement is, whether you’re creating an eBook, publishing articles, using music as a backtrack to your podcast - or what have you - is essential to selling your online media. Although the laws change from one jurisdiction to another, knowing the basic rules of copyright infringement will ensure you’re following the proper rules of engagement when it comes to creating your works. Before you make any final decisions regarding the use of a work that has been copyrighted, please contact a copyright attorney to ensure you’re following the law – this will keep you from being sued or, even worse, punished in a court of law. What is Copyright Infringement? Copyright infringement, as defined by Wikipedia.org, states: “Copyright infringement (or copyright violation) is the unauthorized use of material that is protected by intellectual property rights law particularly the copyright in a manner that violates one of the original copyright owner's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works that build upon it. The slang term bootleg (derived from the use of the shank of a boot for the purposes of smuggling) is often used to describe illicitly copied material.” So, what is copyright infringement in plain English? It means that if you’re not allowed to use something, then don’t use it – plain and simple. It can be very simple to get permission to use a work – many times you’ll be able to use a ‘sample’ of music or excerpt of written work for a nominal fee, or small attribution. However, if you do not have the permission of the copyright holder – whether it’s an author or a publishing house – you can be sued for copyright infringement or worse. What is Copyright Infringement in America? In many jurisdictions, such as the United States of America, this act is known as a strict liability crime or tort (a tort is a civil wrong – not a criminal wrong). This means that the person who infringes the copyright - whether intentionally or not - will be responsible for the damage or loss. Also, the prosecutor (in criminal court) or plaintiff (in civil court) must only prove that the act of copying was committed by the defendant – they do not need to prove guilty intent. This means, even if you had no intention of committing copyright fraud or infringement, you can (and in present times, in many cases, WILL) be prosecuted, even if you used the material in good faith. What is Copyright Infringement in action? Many cases of copyright infringement are difficult to see to the layperson, because the violation is not limited to exact copying. In many cases, when something is inspired by another thing – such as in music, when the inspiration of one song is used to create an entirely different song – it’s difficult to see where the new product or ‘thing’ has crossed the line to something illegal. Some works aren’t even protected by copyright, such as compilation of facts that lack the creativity necessary to be covered by copyright, or works that are in the public domain because the copyright has expired. Knowing the difference is often very difficult to see, and because of this we’ve seen a number of copyright infringement cases in recent years, especially in tandem with the music industry. As you can see, copyright infringement is a very difficult, albeit necessary, act to define. However, if you make sure that you’re using works that are in the public domain, or have long since been out of copyright (think Beethoven or Frankenstein) you’ll be safe. Do you fair research, and if you have any questions contact a copyright lawyer and ask ‘what is copyright infringement’ to learn the most up-to-date information for your jurisdiction.

The Ins and Outs of Free Writing Contests (free writing contests) Free writing contests are available by the thousands. They are virtually a dime a dozen on the Internet. No matter what your niche is in the writing community there is a free writing contests out there for you. How do you know which ones to enter and which ones are legitimate? That’s simple. You do what you do best-- research. While providing the story for the free writing contest will probably be the easy part, researching the thousands of available contests will be a daunting task. If this is un-chartered water for you, you have the start at the beginning. Finding what free writing contests are available. Grab a notebook or start a word document and list the contests that are available. Beside each contest name you will want to put what kind of writing they are looking for and when it needs to be done by. By doing this first you will be able to eliminate any that do not coincide with your writing niche or with your schedule. Now the free writing contest research begins. Finding out if a contest is worthwhile and legitimate is comparable to running a background check on a person. First check the contest website. Do they have all contact information available? Do they tell you what company is hosting the contest? If they are not, you will have likely found warning number one that it is a scam. So scratch those off your list or at least move them to the bottom until you can find out more information on them. Start asking around to colleagues and writers groups. Search the writing forums and the Internet scam sites. The Better Business Bureau is also a good place to look. Once you narrowed the free writing contests down to the legitimate ones, read the contest rules and regulations. Some contests require you signing over all rights to a story even if you don’t win. Are you willing to do this? Giving up rights to you writing is a lot easier to do when you are getting something in return. After you enter there is no going back, so make sure this is what you want to do. The final thing you need to look for is if the contest is just a cover up to get you to buy services or products. This does not necessarily mean they are a scam or don’t actually award winners. It simply means that they will try to entice you to use their critiquing services or offer you a book at a reduced fee that your work will be published in. Being published sounds like a great deal but is it a book that carries prestige that people are going to see? Many authors think that writing contests will launch their career into a successful endeavor. This is not the case, especially for free writing contests. Even winning the grand prize of a smaller known contest is not going to affect your literary journey. Even though they may not springboard your career, there are good reasons to join writing contests. You will get unbiased opinions and valuable feedback from the judges. If you make it into the higher rounds, editors could also see your writing. Ultimately whether you enter a free writing contest the choice is yours. Just ask you self if the time spent writing and researching the piece you choose to enter is worth writing for free in most cases. The critique and feedback may be the most worthwhile thing you receive from the contest. But then again the judges opinions are a dime a dozen just like the contests.

Copyright music free Getting Copyright Music Free can Pay the Artists There are few people that will allow you to use their copyright music free. If you've found a person or a business that is willing to allow this then either consider yourself extremely lucky or start searching for the very fine print. Most people feel a certain kindred or passion for the music they like and they aren't overly willing to part with it at all unless they feel it is their calling to share this music with the world. In those circumstances you will be amazed at how eager they are to share their "message". I however, worry more about those that are eager to share than I worry about those who say no rather quickly and without sending another thought your way. Call me crazy but I'm usually the first one to give my things away and to share when I don't really have that much to begin with. I believe in sacrifice and the need for giving to those who have less or those whose needs are somehow not being met. This makes me a prime candidate for those who would ask me to share my copyright music free. I'm afraid my answer to that question is almost always going to be a no of my own. That being said I've always held a special fondness for musicians. Perhaps it's those teen crushes from which I've never fully recovered-ahem-2 or 3 years later. The problem today is the people are downloading copyright music free online without regards to the fact that when they get it free, someone isn't getting paid for their talents, efforts, and hard work. There are alternatives that will allow you to download the music really cheaply or pay a subscription fee for a service that allows you to download all the music you want for one set amount each month. These services allow the talented writers and performers of this music that adds so much to our lives each and every day to get paid for their labor. Paying for the music in this manner also allows us to enjoy that music while cutting out the middlemen and markups we often pay when purchasing music at retail prices. You do not have to get copyright music free in order to enjoy a wonderful bargain and when you pay something for your music you are ensuring that these talented writers and performers will find it profitable to continue providing this music that entertains you so much. We all enjoy getting things for free or feeling as though we've gotten a terrific bargain. That is one reason that subscription services are so wildly popular. You pay one price for the privilege of downloading as much music as your hard drive and modem can handle each month. It's like paying one fee and enjoying copyright music free except that you are actually paying for the music you are getting in other ways. More importantly though, the artists, writers, and recording companies are getting a piece of the profit pie, which keeps them in business. After the recent problems involved with massive and illegal downloading of copyright music free, recording companies began putting their proverbial feet down and demanding that action be taken. The solutions have been quite clever and highly effective. Consumers were much more willing to pay a monthly subscription fee that amounted to the amount of money that one CD would cost in order to download unlimited music from their homes. Record companies are getting paid for work that has already been done without the need actually produce, deliver, transport, and market their new CDs. This is copyright music free in its best form for all involved.