FARMHOUSE
QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK
(From recent Inside FH newsletters)
Website / E-mail
- "What things do we need to think about regarding copyrights and duplicating the look of other web sites?"
- "How can our chapter have the featured picture on farmhouse.org?"
QUESTION OF THE WEEK?--- "What things do we need to think about regarding copyrights and duplicating the look of other web sites?""
So you've been browsing the Internet and found a great looking Website that you would like to try to duplicate to spruce up your chapter's homepage. You view the source of the page in question and copy over all the scripts and technology you need to make your site just as high tech and functional as the original. Not wanting to copy exactly, you change a few images and colors here and there, but basically keep the same format and then upload your page. Shouldn't be a problem... right? Well, you might be surprised.
The situation described above is becoming more common as Web design by individuals at home increases exponentially. Not everyone is a graphic artist, and more often than not, it is much easier to "borrow" ideas from other sites to help with your design process. The problem is that many of the sites you may be getting ideas from may be copyrighted. Graphics, JavaScript, and other technologies are often the sole property of the creator of a certain page, and if you use them on your site without permission you may be opening yourself up for legal troubles. So what can you do to avoid this?
When it comes to images, be EXTREMELY careful. Don't just search the Internet with a site like Google Image search, and copy images over to your site. Instead look for websites that offer royalty free images. These are images that are free to the public and involve no copyright infringement. If you find an image on a Website you really would like to use, e-mail the administrator of the site for permission. It may sound like a hassle, but a few minutes taken to write a short e-mail may save you hundreds of dollars in court fees.
JavaScript and CGI applications that allow you to have menus, calendars, news headlines and other neat features often include what is called a REM or comment line in the code. DON'T DELETE THIS. If the author finds that you are using a code they created without reference to them they can sue you under copyright infringement laws. As with images, if you find some scripts on a Website you want to use, e-mail the administrator of the site for permission. Alternatively, visit a site like http://www.hotscripts.com. They've got hundreds of scripts you can use, and many are free of any copyright lines.
Finally, when it comes to layout, never copy a site directly, even if you change the images a little bit. If the creator of a site that you "borrowed" from comes across your site and finds that you have a banner in the same place as theirs, a similar color scheme, scripts in exactly the same place (maybe even the same scripts with the comment lines deleted), and very similar images they may feel like you have stolen from their hard work. Depending on what was copied or duplicated, they even could cause you some legal headaches.
Here are some rules to keep in mind that were taken from http://fno.org/jun96/legal.html.
1) Any original content is fine. If you create a graphic from scratch, write text from your own imagination, or create an original audio or video recording, you can put these on your web page without worrying about copyright. However, you may want to ensure copyright protection on your original material.
2) Any work in the "public domain" is not protected by copyright. The trick is knowing what is in the public domain.
- The copyright has expired (author's death plus 50 years).
- The original holder of the copyright has given up the copyright.
- The federal government created the work.
3) In the educational community the law is more lenient in regards to the Fair Use exception to copyright protection. The basic guidelines for fair use are:
- The use of the material is not for commercial reasons.
- Copying factual material is usually more permissible than copying creative works.
- The amount copied cannot be a substantial portion of the work as a whole.
- It cannot be used if using the material will have an adverse impact on the market value of the work.
4) There is certain information that is not copyrightable. Facts, words, phrases, or titles cannot be copyrighted. This would be the case with a link on a page. The link by itself is not protected by copyright (just like an address of a person). But, if someone compiled a page of links in an organized and meaningful way then it could be protected by copyright (like a directory of farms in the Midwest).
5) You can always have links to web sites. The only time there could be a problem with having a link on your page is if you imply a relationship with or an endorsement of the site you are linking to (this is really only if there is some kind of commercial aspect involved).
The lesson here is it is ok to get ideas from other Websites, but don't copy things directly. Instead, use them as starting points to develop your own unique ideas. If you have questions, or need help, send me an e-mail at Brian@FarmHouse.org. I'd be glad to work with you to develop some ideas or scripts.
Brian McCann, Brian@FarmHouse.org
Web Administrator
FarmHouse International
BACK TO TOP MENU
QUESTION OF THE WEEK? --- "How can our chapter have the featured picture on farmhouse.org?"
RESPONSE -- It's as simple as taking a digital photo at a newsworthy event and e-mailing it to Jonathan@FarmHouse.org with some details of the event...
It's much like the chapter highlights section in Pearls & Rubies. Those chapters that forward good usable photos that tell a story will be featured on our main page. We'd like to feature every chapter at least once a year, but it's up to you to get them to us.
In the past year we've used feature photos on the main page at http://www.FarmHouse.org from service projects, awards banquets, big alumni events, house dedications, chapter retreats, conferences, chartering/colonization events, etc.
BACK TO TOP MENU
