Copyright Information

This page provides clear, practical copyright information to help you understand how content can be used online.

Copyright law exists to protect a creator's right to control how his or her original work is used. The information below outlines what you can and can’t do when using content from this website.

• Child Care Provider Copyright Information
• Website Designer Copyright Information
• Obtain Permission to Use Material

Copyright Notice for This Website

Copyright ©2007- by Amy & Kids Co. Family Child Care. All rights reserved.

This website contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws. Any unauthorized use of material found on this website is prohibited. No part of this website may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the owner.

For Child Care Providers

Most people don't realize that almost everything on the Internet is protected by copyright law. Some people think that if there's no copyright notice the material is free for the taking, but that's not true. In most cases, original material is protected by copyright from the moment it is created, whether or not a copyright notice is displayed.

Many child care programs hire a website company to manage their website. However, it’s still the website owner’s responsibility to know where their content comes from. It’s important to understand where your website content comes from, because if a DMCA complaint is filed, it’s your website and business that may be affected, not the company’s.

What You Can Do

Does that mean you can't use anything you find online? Not at all! Here are some situations in which you CAN legally use content from another website on your site:

• Information in the "public domain," which is anything created before 1923, things created before 1977 without a copyright notice, and Federal Government documents.
• Use Creative Commons material. Creative Commons is a license authors use to share their work while still retaining certain rights. Check what permissions are allowed for the material you want to use.
• Link to other websites without obtaining the owner's permission.
• Quote small sections of text from a website under "Fair Use". However, "Fair Use" is a complex area; it's not easy to tell what's lawful and what's not. When in doubt it's always safer to obtain permission from the original source.
• Include facts and ideas from other websites. The way facts and ideas are presented can be copyrighted, however the actual facts and ideas cannot.
• Use free images and graphics on your website - just be sure they're clearly advertised as "free." By the way, "royalty free" is not the same as "free."
• Include a company's name or logo on your website when you're talking about that company, like in a product review.
• Obtain permission from the website owner to use his or her content on your website. This is the safest way to avoid breaking copyright law.

What You Can't Do

However, there are some things you can't do, such as:

• Take something from another website without express permission from the original website owner. The original creator owns his or her creation; you can only use it with permission.
• Assume it's safe to use if there's no copyright notice. Most original content is protected by copyright from the moment it is created, whether or not a notice is displayed.
• Take content from several different websites and merge them together on your webpage. This would be infringing on the copyright of each website, which can create legal issues.
• Assume it's OK to use someone's work if you give them credit. You can only use material someone else created if you have their permission.
• Copy material from another website, change it, post it as your own and claim copyright to it. You cannot claim copyright to someone else's work - no matter how much you change it.
• Copy a list of resources from another website without permission. A better idea is to create your own list of resources to post on your website.
• Use images or graphics from another website, unless the item is clearly labeled as "freeware". You can find many great sources by searching for freeware images or freeware graphics.
• Think it's OK to use material from another website if you're not making money from it. Even if you don't make a penny, any time you use someone else's work without permission you're infringing on their copyright.

For Website Designers

As a professional website designer you know (or should know) copyright law, which means you know (or should know) that you cannot copy anything from this website without permission.

Having put countless hours into creating the content for this website, I take great pride in it and will defend it against copyright infringement to the best of my ability. However, I'm not an ogre, so if you would like to use some of my content on a client's website, please ask me for permission. (No monetary compensation will be required - I'm not an ogre, remember?)

Thank you for respecting my right to control how my original work is used.

Copyright Attribution

Visit the Copyright Attribution page for information about Creative Commons licensed material used on this website.