5 Must-knows of online sharing

title What is copyright? Any time you create something original you own the intellectual property of that piece and only you have the right to display, to make copies or to modify your own work. Unless you give the permission, no one is allowed to copy or make money from what you have created. By uploading your images and press releases to your Press Loft account, you give permission to journalists to download and use your images and to quote your releases in their articles. plessloftaccount1 And if you want to share something else you found online? If you love something that someone else has made you can still share it with others, but it’s important to cite and reference where you found your source. When can you share it freely?
  • If you found it on a public domain. As a rule of thumb, artwork usual enters the public domain because of old age (published before 1923 or 50 years after the creators’ death). Alternatively, the owner can give their art to the public without copyright protection.
  • When you are sharing facts. If you copy a list of countries in the Olympics for example, you are not infringing on any intellectual property because they are facts and thus do not belong to any one person.
  • When you are mentioning a title or the author. Mentioning a title or author of something is the same as stating a fact.
  • When you are linking to something. Sharing the location of something does not require copyright permissions. The link is an address making it a fact, not a creative work.
  • When it has a creative commons license. If the work has a creative commons license you should see it stated on the work itself. For example, some images on flicker are set to creative commons and gives the audience permission to download (remember to credit the creator) while others say ‘all right reserved’.
creativecommons When do you have to get permission? An easy way to tell is if you see a little © or ® symbol or ‘All right reserved’. If this is the case, you need to purchase a license to use that piece of work. You can contact the owner directly or sometimes the artist leases the license to a company to sell, ie on a stock photography site. When you choose to download a stock image from these sites, you will pay a download fee and the artist will get paid for their works. What if it’s a video you want to share? Streaming sites like Youtube allow you to share videos by embedding them. By embedding the video, you share it by creating a link to the original site. When you share things by linking, you are sharing an address not the work itself and you don’t need to ask any permissions. videosharing * Keep these 5 handy tips on sharing online content in the back of your mind and you’re sure to never run into any trouble about what you can and cant share with your followers 🙂 What is Press Loft? Press Loft  www.pressloft.com is a PR platform specialising in the home, gift, and lifestyle sectors that helps thousands of brands to get their products into the press. Their PR tools allow companies to easily secure press coverage and quality backlinks for SEO by connecting with their network of 20,000+ journalists, bloggers, and influencers. Get Free Press Coverage – take a 60-day free trial (only available to new customers only.