Part of protecting your organization’s success in Texas is to guarantee that you practice integrity and ethical conduct no matter what the circumstances are. One of the most important things you can do is to pay close attention to copyright laws to avoid infringing on someone else’s copyright. Failure to do so could result in costly consequences, damage your reputation and cost you the success of your company. Fortunately, there are proactive steps you can take to prevent infringement and give credit to the people who deserve it.
According to Chron.com, some of the things you can do to stay safe from copyright infringement include the following:
- Do not take advantage of fair use laws. Fair use allows you and others to use excerpts of another’s work for purposes related to educational, scholarly and nonprofit endeavors. However, even under fair use laws, you are required to properly cite your source in a place that is visible to content users.
- Never use someone else’s work without citing it and giving credit where credit is due. Plaigarizing or claiming someone else’s work to be your own is a dangerous mistake that can result in fines, legal consequences and a damaged reputation among other things.
- If you ever come across something you wish to use or implement in your own work, take the time to contact the copyright holder and ask his or her permission for use. Even then, you will be required to provide some kind of credit or disclose that you received permission to copy the work.
The information in this article is intended for educational purposes only and should not be taken as legal advice.
