The assignment was to write a paper that reflected a legal issue related to technology or the inter net.

Because I was only vaguely familiar with the terms public domain and creative commons, I selected to write about them. It is my goal to eventually create a free online learning community dedicated to personal and professional development, it seemed that my future goals had a correlation to this subject. As a result of my investigation, I stated in my paper: Both the materials noted as PDM in the public domain and creative commons (CC0) require no permission to copy or use. They can serve as a foundation for new and creative work and be quoted extensively. There is no obligation to attribute CC0 work to the author although you can voluntarily do so if requested in the work. In addition, these materials can be copied, distributed and used on web pages without permission and without paying royalties. In essence, Public domain status in these cases allows the user unrestricted access and unlimited creativity! There are no legal implications for using these materials. I also noted the difference between public domain and creative commons: Creative Commons Licenses help creators retain copyright while allowing others to copy, distribute, and make some uses of their work, at least non-commercially. The CC License provides an easy way for creators to define the terms on which others may use their work. This paper was fun to write and interesting. I realized that these domains are not singular in their definition or requirements. Each one has multiple categories underneath them. When the time comes for me to put my resources on the web, Ill need to review my options carefully and consider which will best serve my purposes.