After watching all the videos on copyright, fair use, and creative commons I learned many things about copyright laws and what you can and cannot do. The laws are enforced so that people can have access to these creative ideas without actually taking the ideas for themselves and giving credit to the people who produced the ideas. Thats where the fair use policy comes into play; this limits what the public can copy from the author and his work. The author can establish how limited he wants his work to be copied, from not being copied at all to allowing the public to openly use it. Creative commons helps organize these rules and laws into a method that helps people use and share work without worrying about copyright laws being broken.

One example of recognizing copyright laws that I go through all the time is bibliographies in all of my papers. I always give credit to the works of many people who were involved with the creation of my papers and essays. Without their ideas and creativity I would have nothing to write about or discuss. Its important to recognize those that help keep your work afloat. Another example would be how my friend downloads music illegally through different media sharing programs. It is illegal because he is taking the ideas and work of an author without paying for it. This is becoming an even larger issue now than ever due to the vast growing media that refuses to slow down.