Is Everything Found on the Internet Free?

Full Question: I found something on the internet I want to use. Do I need permission?

Answer: Much of the material on the internet that is the subject matter of copyright is protected by copyright. The copyright owner who owns the material may be fine with you making a copy or they may not be. There is no way to know unless you find out directly from the copyright owner. If you want to download the material for use in your own work, you should be cautious and track down the copyright owner of the material (which is often the original creator of the material) and ask for permission. If you only plan on using a small portion of the material instead of the whole thing it is possible that the fair use exception may apply.