I have just been thinking about whether we need to specifically copyright our website material or is it protected by way of being our Intellectual Property already? Do we need to add a copyright caption on each page or is it implied?
Just trying to understand our position.
Thanks
Richard
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anthrovol
Premium
As said before copyright is automatic, as opposed to a patent which needs a filing to be legit. In either case though, if your stuff is valuable and somebody with lots of money and friends in high places wants to steal it, they will, and fighting them is next to impossible.
techhound
Premium
Hey Richard,
In the United States, anything that is published is automatically copyrighted. If someone registers work with the copyright office they have a further protection in that the infringer has to reimburse for court and legal fees associated with the case.
However, it costs money to register it. Back in the late 90's I registered several songs that I wrote. At the time it was $30 per application. You can (and I have) register multiple pieces of work under the same application and the fee is not based on the number of items. So technically, if you wanted to register your material in batches you could do so, all for the same fee.
Please note: I am not a lawyer and don't play one on Facebook. So you should not misconstrue this as any kind of legal advice. Also, the copyright process may have changed since the time that I went through it.
Best Regards,
Jim
In the United States, anything that is published is automatically copyrighted. If someone registers work with the copyright office they have a further protection in that the infringer has to reimburse for court and legal fees associated with the case.
However, it costs money to register it. Back in the late 90's I registered several songs that I wrote. At the time it was $30 per application. You can (and I have) register multiple pieces of work under the same application and the fee is not based on the number of items. So technically, if you wanted to register your material in batches you could do so, all for the same fee.
Please note: I am not a lawyer and don't play one on Facebook. So you should not misconstrue this as any kind of legal advice. Also, the copyright process may have changed since the time that I went through it.
Best Regards,
Jim
rwagener
Premium
Great response - thanks. Obviously a tricky issue and while there in theoretical protection, enforcing is difficult. Appreciate your insight.
Richard
Richard
techhound
Premium
One thing to keep in mind if somebody republishes your work, at least on another website, Google will know who the original publisher is and will likely penalize any copycats (or at the very least ignore them in search).
You can also put in a DMCA complaint which could force the ISP of the offender to take down that page (and sometimes even the whole website). You can find more about that here by searching in Google for:
DMCA complaint
Best Regards,
Jim
You can also put in a DMCA complaint which could force the ISP of the offender to take down that page (and sometimes even the whole website). You can find more about that here by searching in Google for:
DMCA complaint
Best Regards,
Jim
rwagener
Premium
Thanks again for the excellent response and information. It is great to be aware of the options so we can manage our sites well.
Richard
Richard
rwagener
Premium
I guess if there is major copying we can take action through various sources but overall we just need to keep one step ahead.
Thanks
Thanks
TheCatherine
Premium Plus
If your copy is good enough someone will steal some or all of it at some point and thats the reality. Now there are things you can do but in practise it's not worth the time and effort to pursue it. However if it makes you feel better you can go to copyscape.com and get some free free copyright banners ot won't make a blind bit of difference but if it gives you an illusion of security its there
