Copyright Copyright on the 'Net Copyright issues involve both downloading and uploading information. Internet materials are generally covered by existing copyright laws and entertainment, educational, and commercial agencies are working to clarify and even tighten copyright as it pertains to the Internet. Text, graphics, and sound are all covered. Downloading items for forwarding, integrating into presentations, and for incorporating into hard copy products involves the necessity for copyright awareness.
Many postings ask that materials be downloaded in their entirety and attribution given.
Care should be taken in displaying student materials posted on school homepages. Students may hold inherent copyright on their work, and permission should be granted before their work is disseminated. It is unclear, as always, when teachers and students prepare and produce materials on school equipment and on school time, whether the copyright is held by the indidvidual or by the school. These issues are currently undergoing questioning and legal testing. Technology always forces law.