IF you put together web pages for a charity group or society you will have come across problems concerning copyright issues.

Many people just go ahead and use things hoping they won't be found out, while not all web content's copyright status is clearly labelled.

Even if it is, it's not always legally correct.

Lots of things are posted online with no copyright information at all, even when they are, according to the law, copyrighted by someone.

People who create things - pictures, poems, stories, films, songs - might want to publish them on the internet and be able to control the means by which they are redistributed.

Which is where a new free service called Creative Commons (www.creativecommons.org) comes in. It will allow anyone who wants to publish stuff on the internet to attach to it a legally-binding document that says exactly and clearly under what circumstances it can be reused.

Using Creative Commons, someone can post their photos or poems online and with them a clear notice saying they can be reused or redistributed anywhere and by anyone - as long as the original author is credited in a certain way.

The Creative Commons examples page makes it clear how the service could be of considerable use to a lot of people.

The full service is not to be available until later this year. In the meantime the website is there to explain more and offer internet users the chance to make their comments.