Section 15.1 Communicating in a Digital Society 359 Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Intellectual Property The Internet provides countless sources for obtaining text, images, video, audio, and software. Even though this material is easily obtainable, this does not mean it is available for you to use any way you choose. Laws exist to govern the use of media and creative works. The creators or owners of this material have certain legal rights. Intellectual property is something that comes from a person’s mind, such as an idea, invention, or process. Intellectual property laws protect a person’s or a company’s inventions, artistic works, and other intellectual property. Plagiarism is claiming another person’s material as your own, which is both unethical and illegal. If you must refer to someone else’s work, follow intellectual property laws to ethically acquire the information. Use standard methods of citing sources. Citation guidelines in The Chicago Manual of Style and the Modern Language Association’s MLA Handbook can be helpful. Piracy is the unethical and illegal copying or downloading of software, fi les, and other protected material. Examples of protected material include images, movies, and music. Piracy carries a heavy penalty, including fi nes and incarceration. Copyright A copyright is the exclusive right to copy, license, sell, and distribute material. The copyright holder also has the right to give permission for someone else to sell or use it. Any use of copyrighted material without permission is called infringement. The laws cover all original work, whether it is in print, on the Internet, or in any other form of media. Scanning a document does not make the content yours. Go Green Advances in computer technology have improved hard- ware capabilities and performance. Often, terminals can be set up at several workstations and connected to a single server where the applications actually run. Sharing the computing power of a single server reduces the need for multiple computers, which reduces the amount of power used by a business. Newer computers and printers are also more effi cient, using less energy to power them. Some businesses are replacing desktop computers with laptop or notebook computers to save energy. Laptops are 30% more energy effi - cient than desktop computers. By upgrading to new equipment, businesses not only save the environment but save money on operating expenses.