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8. Responsibilities to the intellectual property of others

8.1 Rules

8.1.1 I will respect the intellectual property and associated rights of all other creators. 

8.1.2 I will not copy another creator’s work without consent, or claim another creator’s work as my own. 

8.1.3 I will not provide copyrighted material to my clients without ensuring proper licenses have been obtained. 

8.1.4 I will ensure that I have proper licenses for all copyrighted material that I and my employers are using. 

8.1.5 I will not knowingly use tools that use copyrighted materials without the permission of or fair compensation to the creators. 

8.1.6 When downloading or accessing copyrighted material, I will check license agreements for correct usage. 

8.1.7 When using assets that license copyright and attribution under the “Creative Commons” model, I will: 

  • Make sure any derivative works I produce using such assets carry the identical license forward or further restrict the rights granted, in order to protect the original creator of the work.
  • Clearly credit those responsible for the assets I have used.
  • Provide links to the personal websites and/or blogs of the creators and modifiers of the assets, back to the original creator, if the information exists. 

8.1.8 If, after using assets labeled as “Creative Commons” or purchasing or finding clip art, I discover or are made aware of copyright infringement, I will:

  • Come to an agreement with the original creator of the work to ensure adequate compensation is provided to him/her based on the usage.
  • Make sure proper credit is given to the original creator of the work. If this is not possible (for example, if the product is already printed), I will try to the best of my ability to issue an erratum on my website or blog advising people of the mistake and crediting the proper source. I will notify any other users of the assets that I know of, and try to put them in touch with the creator of the original work. If the creator of the work is unable or unwilling to license proper licenses, I will stop using the asset immediately.