Although you may not have thought too much about it, all of your work in college—including all the research and writing you do, online and off—represents a growing bank of intellectual property. In fact, such original work is automatically copyrighted, even if it lacks the © symbol. But remember that the open source movement is gaining momentum and that sharing your ideas and writing freely with others is a way to perpetuate them and to gain an audience for your views.
For work that you want to protect, here are some tips for making sure that others respect your intellectual property just as you respect theirs: