Copying from the internet
Material in electronic form, such as on the Internet may be
protected by copyright. The fact that it is on the Internet does not mean
it is “in the public domain” or “copyright-free”.
However, many people publish material on the Internet and give permission
for
people to copy it for certain purposes (for example, many web sites include
a statement about what people are and are not permitted to do with material
on the site).
In general, you should not assume that you are entitled to print or download
everything to which you can get access on the Internet. Some material on
the Internet is infringing material – it is there without the copyright
owner’s authorisation.
You should first check to see if there is a statement about copyright on
the web site – web site proprietors often state what they permit and
do not permit in relation to material on the site.
If there is no statement about copyright, you may be able to imply, from
the fact that the copyright owner has made the material available on the
Internet, that the copyright owner permits people to print and/or download
the material. You would need to be sure that the material had been made
available on the Internet with the copyright owner’s authorisation,
and that the circumstances in which it is made available clearly imply permission
to print and/or download (for example, where a button on the site says “printer
friendly version”). It is unlikely, however, that you could imply
permission to distribute copies to others, or to use the material for a
commercial purpose.
How do I get permission?
Start by contacting the web site proprietor and/or the web master (there
will usually be email addresses for them on the web site). .
