Simple English definitions for legal terms
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Term: Inlining
Definition: Inlining is when someone takes a picture or other file from one website and puts it on their own website without asking permission. This is not okay because it can break the law and hurt the person who made the picture or file. It can also confuse people who see the picture because they might not know where it really came from.
Inlining is a method of displaying a file, usually an image, from one website onto another website without permission. This is done by linking to the file address from another website, which will transfer the file along servers to appear as though the file originated from the linking website.
The problem with inlining is that the file will appear as if it is from the website that inlined the file, not from the original website. This can break copyright law because the file creator did not authorize the copyrighted materials to be redistributed by the person inlining the file. Inlining can also distort the context of the original file and destroy the benefits of the creator because website viewers will not know the source of the image.
Example 1: A blogger finds a beautiful image on a photographer's website and wants to use it in their blog post. Instead of asking for permission or properly citing the source, the blogger copies the image address and inlines it into their blog post. This makes it look like the image is from the blogger's website, not the photographer's.
Example 2: A website owner wants to display a chart from a news article on their website. Instead of properly citing the source or asking for permission, the website owner inlines the chart into their website. This makes it look like the chart is from the website owner's website, not the news article.
Both examples illustrate how inlining can be used to display content from another website without permission or proper citation. This can be a violation of copyright law and can distort the context of the original content.