Potential legal implications of using and editing graphical images

Explain the potential legal implications of using and editing graphical images

                                                   

The creators of an image or piece of work are given a form of protection called Copyright. This is to prevent that someone copies a piece work and then say that it is theirs. This Copyright form of protection means that no one can take work or images without the owner's permission. There are copyright free images that can be find in internet under web pages that are identified as copyright free, these images can be taken and freely used by anyone.

The copyright law's main purpose is to protect the images and work that have been created by people and to protect them from unfair use of their work. When downloading a song from the internet without having pay for it means that the user is breaking the copyright law, if this person is caught he/she will have to face serious consequences for doing such a small but important thing. Cheating and plagiarism are just problems that are caused because the creator's work is not protected by copyright, so anyone can state work as their own. 

If someone breaks the copyright law, the holder of it is able to sue that person, that will force the person to pay a fine. Of course it is not always the same for every single case (sometimes people could even have to face a prison sentence of a maximum of 10 years, or an enormous fine) as this depends on the amount of damage that has been caused by that person. 

When the user wants to edit images, the first step is to find the ownership of that graphic and whether it can be used or not. This can be done so easily as most owners print their names or copyright on or close to the image. When there is no name printed on the image, the ownership is most probably with the webpage or book where the image can be found.