On a day to day basis we do copyright infringement knowingly or unknowingly. Like when we download movies illegally , making snaps of movies in theaters, Using cracked software , Using copyright songs in videos etc.
But there are ways to avoid such things and to prevent being end up giving penalty or in jail for piracy.
- Know what copyrights protect. Copyright law protects any original creation, and grants the holder of the copyright exclusive control over when, how, and by whom their work may be copied, distributed, or exhibited.
- Know what isn't protected. Copyright law generally does not protect the underlying ideas of a creative work, and it does not protect facts.
- Don't confuse copyrights, trademarks, and other forms of "intellectual property." The term "intellectual property" itself has led to these very different things being confused with each other.
- Learn about the public domain laws for your jurisdiction. "Public domain" is short-hand for "uncopyrighted", not "publicly distributed".
- Be creative. If ever you wonder whether a certain action would infringe on the copyright of someone else, the question to ask is: is this a creative work on my count, or am I simply drawing from the creativity of someone else?
- Don't rely on "fair use". Called "fair dealing" in many jurisdictions, fair use is simply a guarantee that copyright laws do not infringe freedom of speech and make critical commentary impossible.