Why Should You Care?

Two reasons: 

so you do not infringe on someone else's copyright 

and

so no one infringes on your copyright.

Yes, that's right!  If you've ever written a poem, taken a photograph, created a Web page, compiled a PowerPoint presentation, etc., then you are a copyright holder.  You, as the creator, have fixed your work in a tangible medium, and copyright law provides you with the control over how that material can be used by others.

Let's say you recently wrote a really great short story and put it on the Web for others to read.  While you're at the bookstore, you pick up a copy of a book of short stories, glance through the table of contents, and see your story in the book!   At first you think, "Hey, that's cool!  My story is in a published book!"  Then you come to your senses.  No one asked your permission to reprint your story in this book, and you're not getting a cent from the sale of these books.  You're getting ripped off! 

Copyright law to the rescue!  Because you are the author of the story, and the story was fixed in a tangible medium (you put it on the Web), the editor of the book of short stories has infringed on your copyright by reproducing your work without your permission.  You would have grounds for a copyright infringement lawsuit.

It also works the other way.  If you infringe on someone else's copyright, you could find yourself in a whole heap of trouble.  To learn more about how to avoid this, please refer to the How can you avoid copyright infringement? section of this tutorial.