You hit it right on the nose, ladynimue. As the old cliche goes - possession is 9/10ths of the law. And in the case of one's artwork, the creator possesses it and has certain (internationally recognized) rights concerning its use, distribution, and display - no matter how easily it can be acquired by others. Again, just because you can do a thing does not mean that it is legal to do it. ernyoka1, I was going to mention that everything (except server-side scripting and certain streaming media) is downloaded to your computer for web browsing. But this copying, again, is covered by many laws which restrict what you can do with it. This is close to a EULA, in that you can install an application, but cannot lend it to your friends, sell it, etc. Any data copied to your computer that is copyrighted still falls under copyright law (period). In this case, the agreement is that you can view the material but cannot use it in any other way without permission from the creator of it. The internet started with free-exchange at its core (ArpaNet and exchange of research documents and information between colleges, universities, and such). Once it entered the public domain and then the business domain, this free-exchange has opened up a pandora's box of legal indeterminants. The internet crosses national boundaries, where laws vary from one nation to another. What the web needs is several levels of encryption (PGP or similar) depending upon the material being served - free, protected, secure. If data to be only viewed (and not copied, saved, or used otherwise) were protected, most of this would not be happening. BYS