Author's Right, Copyright and Free Licenses for Culture on the Web/Web Tools/Websites

69. What is a website?
It is a set of pages written in computer language that host texts, images, videos, data or other means of interaction (e.g. chat, forum), disseminated through standard protocols and identified by a domain (see below).

70. What is a blog or video blog?
Personal page operated on the Internet, hosted by a domain. It is a specific type of website characterized by the chronological “diary” form: it might be commented by readers, host videos, images, etc. If the content of the blog is mostly video, it is also called video-blog.

71. Who rules the Internet and Domain Name System (DNS)?
At a global level, no one natural person, company, organization or government runs and rules the Internet. Each State or inter-States treaty is setting and enforcing its own policies, rules and regulations.

On the pure technical-IT level, there is a set of technical rules developed and applied by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a non-profit organization, under US law, responsible for the management and coordination of the domain name system (so-called DNS, Domain Name System), to ensure that each address is unique and that users are able to find valid (IP, Internet Protocol) addresses. ICANN is organized according to the plural participatory model (so called multi-stakeholder), to which the public and private sectors contribute. At domestic or European Union level, there are different laws governing access, use and disputes on the subject matter.

72. Does copyright also apply to the Internet?
Yes. The Internet is not a free zone. The digital world is regulated by international (e.g. multilateral treaties, agreements between States), European and State legislation on the subject matter.

73. What basic rules do I have to follow to publish on my site?
The rule of due diligence requires those who intend to disseminate content via Internet, and therefore also through a site, to verify the domestic, European and international legislation applicable, for example, to the cultural sector. For example, carrying out the copyright, the expiry of such rights, if there is any license and the type of license. To this generic rule, the cultural institution, owner of the site, may foresee further provisions for the visitors and users of the site. These specific rules can be provided in the so-called terms and conditions of the site or, if the site offers products or services for sale in the so-called general conditions of contract. If the user-buyer of products or services is an individual (consumer), the more rigorous consumer protection legislation (so-called “B2C”) will be applied; if the user-buyer of products or services is a business, the general rules on contract will be applied (so-called “B2B”).