Under UK law copyright material sent over the Internet
or stored on web servers will generally be
protected in the same way as material in other media. Anyone wishing to put copyright material on
the Internet, or distribute or download material that others have placed on the Internet, should
ensure that they have the permission of the owners of rights in the material unless copyright
exceptions or defences apply. Of course, you do not need to obtain permission if the owner
explicitly states that copying is permitted – and many website owners do this. But be sure
that in
doing this you are not breaching someone else’s copyright.
You should note that the law may be different in other
countries so copyright material may have
been put on the Internet in other countries without infringing copyright there, but it could still be
illegal to use (including download that material) without permission in the UK. For further
information on international copyright, see copyright
and other countries. 
