If you have a Facebook or a MySpace page, chances are you've spent hours scouring your friends' posted photos, videos, and music. There's also the chance that you've copied your favorite work onto your own page.

But what if Facebook or MySpace also copied your featured artwork?

Each company has its own Intellectual Property Rights. Generally speaking, once you post a piece of artwork, unless it is copyrighted, you give the social network the ability to use it.

So what should you do if you are a professional photographer, painter, or musician?

Having a media outlet with an online profile could be beneficial to an artist's career, like a source of free marketing. However, after doing a bit of research, chances are you might want to take your work off your online profile.

According to Attorney Daniel E. Smith, on CoyeLaw.com, those who use Facebook to promote their artwork or music should take a closer look at their ownership rights. "Facebook's Terms state that they can't make money from the property, and their property rights end once the user takes the content down," Smith says. "But that doesn't mean Facebook can't share your active content without getting your permission first."

In short, once you take your pictures off your profile, or if you delete your online account, Facebook can no longer use any of it. That's a sigh of relief for some users, but what if you leave your content up? Does Facebook actually use your photos?

The network explains, "Despite what you may have heard, Facebook does not give your personal information to advertisers-including your name, profile picture or any of your photos." Although Facebook "does not give third party applications or ad networks the right to use your name or picture in ads," according to its website, it does hold the right to potentially do this in the future, unless you opt out. Check your account settings if you want to change this.

Fortunately, if you posted any copyrighted work, Facebook and MySpace will respect your rights, and even penalize users who abuse that right. For example, MySpace agrees to terminate the membership of repeat offenders of copyright infringement, as long as you follow this simple rule: "If you believe your work has been copied and posted on or through the MySpace Services in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please send MySpace's Copyright Agent a notification of claimed infringement."

So what constitutes as copyright?

According to MySpace, "In order for a work of authorship to be eligible for copyright protection, it must be fixed in a tangible means of expression." This means that anything you have already created can be copyrighted, while a simple idea you have expressed cannot.

Essentially, if you have tangible, copyrighted work posted on your profile, nobody can use it without your permission. However, if you don't want to see your profile picture on a featured advertisement, you must change your account settings. It might take some extra time, but it will help keep your online portfolio safer.

Here's how to keep Facebook from using your profile image in a future advertisement:

Click on "Account" in the upper right corner.

Click on "Account Settings."

Click on "Facebook Ads."

Click on "Edit social ads Settings."

Switch to "No One."