Unless the information is in a protected format, you can copy almost anything off the Internet. Whether or not it is legal to do so is a separate question, the answer to which largely depends on why you are copying the information. If you are copying the information for your own personal use, it may be okay. However, if it is for use in your business or otherwise for financial gain, you may be faced with potential liability exposure.
Under the general heading of intellectual property, and without regard to the Internet, the law affords protection to copyrights, patents, and trademark.
A trademark is a word, design or combination used by an individual or a business to identify its goods or services. In some cases a trademark can also be a sensory mark–a sound, a color or a smell. Marks identifying services rather than goods are technically referred to a “service marks.”
A copyright offers protection for original works of authorship. The word copyright can be defined as a property right in an original work of authorship (such as a literary, musical, artistic, photographic, or film work) fixed in any tangible medium of expression, giving the holder the exclusive right to reproduce, adapt, distribute, perform, and display the work.
A patent is a grant of a property right by the Government to an inventor. The United States Constitution gives Congress the right to provide for patent protection in legislation in order to encourage useful inventions. The patent itself provides a detailed description of the invention, and how it is used or how to make it. Federal statutes give an inventor the exclusive right to use, sell, and market his invention. The types of things that can be patented are things that are new, useful, and not obvious to those in the business to which the invention relates. An invention also may be a process, a new chemical or even a new type of plant.
Being able to access and copy or reproduce information so easily over the Internet has given rise to many new legal issues. As a consequence, new legislation has been adopted, including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. This Act provides stiff civil and criminal penalties for pirating and other unauthorized use of software. If a licensor brings a civil action against you, for example, it may be possible to obtain an injunction and monetary damages. The licensor may then choose between actual damages, which includes the amount lost because of infringement, plus any profits attributable to the infringement. In addition, the government can criminally prosecute you for copyright infringement. If convicted, penalties can include up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000.