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You interact with, and probably create, copyrighted works every single day of your life. Whether you download a new WordPress theme, purchase software, or even just take a picture on your smartphone, you'll be applying what you learn in this course.
So what does it all mean then?
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Why is all this important to you?
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Why is copyright important?
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Well like we discussed earlier, if you're working on a website,
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almost every part of that website is copyrightable.
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But chances are you're not creating it entirely from scratch.
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Maybe you're using WordPress,
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is that copyrighted?
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Clearly you're allowed dowload it free and use it,
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but for what exactly, and how?
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Is that theme you're working with the work of someone else?
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Did you buy that theme, and if you did, can you modify it, can you change it, how much?
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Are you building an iPhone app?
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You didn't write the iOS system that it's running on.
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Are you sure you're working within it's terms of service?
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You never read those things, do you?
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Every creative person, whether a web designer, photographer, film-maker, musician,
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painter, architect, or anything else,
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everyone should have a basic understanding of copyright law in the United States
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and in their own country.
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It's essential for creating anything, working for any sort of company,
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or running any sort of business.
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In the following stages we're going to cover topics including licensing,
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open source, creative comments, where to find content that you can use in your own projects,
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both free and paid,
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how to protect your work, how to share your work while still retaining your rights.
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And even how to deal with people who use your work in a way you don't agree with.
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By the end of it you'll feel pretty confident talking about matters of copyright
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when those discussion arise, and they will.
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And you'll have a good idea of what you want to do with your own creative works.
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So now we understand the very basics of copyright law.
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Are there any exceptions to copyright laws?
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There are, so take a quick quiz,
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and we're going to learn about those next.
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