Not necessarily. Unless your agreement with the graphic artist explicitly states that upon your payment all of their rights are then transferred to you, you most likely only have exclusive license to use those graphics. And to purchase the full copyright will cost you a bunch more than simple exclusivity!

Understand that the moment anything is created whether it be written or drawn, the creator owns the copyright - that?s the law. Over the years I've had clients claim they own copyright just because they paid me to create this or that. It simply, legally, is not the case (and my contract(s) clearly state this - including their option to purchase my copyright if they so choose).

Copyright can only be transferred in a written legally binding agreement signed by the creator of the work stating they are transferring their rights to you. Saying you own it because you paid for it doesn't make it legal fact. If you do not have a written agreement specifically transferring the copyright to you, you do not own the copyright to those graphics.

7) ?E-mail is not copyright protected once it is sent.?

E-mail is a written work that once created is copyright protected by the author. This means you cannot post publicly an e-mail sent to you privately. You cannot post private e-mails to your site, to message boards or to your blog without the author?s specific permission to do so.

Just because an e-mail was sent to you as a private communication does not mean you then own it and can do with it what you like. In addition, e-mail that is posted to a group of people, on a mailing list or Newsgroup does not make the e-mail available for reposting, copying, or any other use - not without the express and written consent of the writer.

What's the bottom line with online copyright?

Courtesy! Don't assume that you can use, repost or take anything you find online simply because you can. Be a courteous Netizen and always ask first!

You might be interested to find a DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) page and policy statement on your ISP and hosting provider?s Web sites to handle complaints and reports of the above types of copyright abuse. Take some time to read that information and make yourself aware of your rights and make sure you do not infringe on others. The main resource for all the legal mumbo jumbo on online copyright and the DMCA is on the Governments site @ http://www.copyright.gov.

Again, I am not an attorney nor am I providing legal advice. I hope I've informed you of some of the issues that need to be seriously considered by all who are online whether they are creating their own or using others creative or written works.

Judith Kallos is an authoritative and good-humored Technology Muse. Check out her new book: "Because Netiquette Matters! Your Comprehensive Reference Guide to E-mail Etiquette and Proper Technology Use" @: http://www.BecauseNetiquetteMatters.com