Is anybody officially copyrighting their web site?

[MaineWeb]

Most sites I visit have some notice about copyright or "all rights reserved". Mine does, too. It has since before I took over. There is a lot of content on my site that I wouldn't want copied, but I'm wondering, what good does it do to say something is copyrighted or "all rights reserved" if you haven't gone through the formal procedure to copyright it?

I read an article at http://www.ezinearticles.com/?21-Mus...ments&id=66529 suggesting webmasters should take advantage of de facto copyright laws and post a standard copyright notice.

I tried to find information about defacto copyright laws and found nothing. Ideas?

[nottheusual1]

Start here with this google search:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&l...es&btnG=Search

In the first 5 or so pages of results, you should find more than enough info to give you a more comfortable feeling for exactly what the copyright laws are and how they benefit you.

[nozzmoking]

Hi MaineWeb,

I don't know if this helps but I use the free Copyscape service which displays a small banner anywhere on your page, example here at bottom of page: http://www.castleprint.co.uk/spot-process-colours.html

It probably won't stop people stealing your content but certainly acts as a deterrent.

If someone uses your content then Copyscape will automatically email you.

http://www.copyscape.com/

Hope this helps,

Paul

[DrTandem1]

This is a question that pops up every now and then. Yes, there are ways of copyrighting your material. That being said, the issue really isn't copyrighting your material, it's enforcing your copyright.

First you need to find an offender. Then, you have to be sure it is actually a violation. Changing a few words and such while keeping the same meaning may be stealing your ideas, but may not be an actual violation of your copyright.

Now, even if you found someone who stole it word for word, you need to find them to serve them with a lawsuit. Then your lawyer is going to have to prove it in court. Then, if you prevail in court, you need to have the judgment enforced. The stolen material may then "pop-up" on a different site. How many times are you going to pay to have your copyrights defended?

Bottom line, it's easy to steal words, it's much more difficult to copy good service. Stay focused and keep moving forward. Cheap imitations are not worth the trouble.

[imaginemn]

In general, copyright registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work.

Here is more official information about this topic.

http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html#cr

imaginemn

[timmathews.com]

Well Said DrTandem1!
I couldn't agree more.
here here

[pywrit]

I just wanted to make a few comments here since I've done some writing in the past and have studied copyright somewhat.

First you need to find an offender. Then, you have to be sure it is actually a violation. Changing a few words and such while keeping the same meaning may be stealing your ideas, but may not be an actual violation of your copyright.

Actually, in most cases, if more than 5-10% is the same, it is a blatant copyright violation. It takes a lot of changing to keep from violating copyrights and is really usually easier to steal the whole thing or to write totally from scratch than to make that many changes.

In general, copyright registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work.

Copyright exists from the moment the work is created and placed in a tangible form such as on paper or saved electronically. If it were to simply be on the desktop of your computer and not saved to a file, copyright would not yet exist. Second, you do not need to register to bring about a lawsuit, but it greatly enhances your chances of proving ownership in a court of law.

There is a lot of content on my site that I wouldn't want copied, but I'm wondering, what good does it do to say something is copyrighted or "all rights reserved" if you haven't gone through the formal procedure to copyright it?

Think of it this way, there are still a lot of people who don't even realize that online content is protected by copyright law. It may not deter many, but it may serve as reminder to those who are unaware of the electronic form addendums that have been added to the copyright laws.

My solution is generally to have a statement that content may be used elsewhere as long as the byline remains intact and a link back to my website is placed with the content. So far, just about every time I've found my writing on the web, there has been a link back to my website (think SEO here :-)

Just my nickel's worth.

Jeff

[DrTandem1]

I just wanted to make a few comments here since I've done some writing in the past and have studied copyright somewhat.

First you need to find an offender. Then, you have to be sure it is actually a violation. Changing a few words and such while keeping the same meaning may be stealing your ideas, but may not be an actual violation of your copyright.

Actually, in most cases, if more than 5-10% is the same, it is a blatant copyright violation. It takes a lot of changing to keep from violating copyrights and is really usually easier to steal the whole thing or to write totally from scratch than to make that many changes.

Say the above paragraph was copyrighted and I wrote this:

"Usually, if over 10% of the text is identical, it is considered a violation of copyright laws here in the US. Quite a bit of editing would need to occur to legally avoid an infringement. Although, it's easier to copy-and-paste the entire works of another, than to re-write content from the beginning."


Not that I agree with what I just wrote, but it took just a few moments and it would not violate a copyright of the the paragraph it paraphrased.

In general, copyright registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit for infringement of a U.S. work.

Copyright exists from the moment the work is created and placed in a tangible form such as on paper or saved electronically. If it were to simply be on the desktop of your computer and not saved to a file, copyright would not yet exist. Second, you do not need to register to bring about a lawsuit, but it greatly enhances your chances of proving ownership in a court of law.

This simply doesn't make sense. If you have the work on your computer's desktop, then it has been "saved electronically." It can be very difficult to prove who wrote something first. If you have actual work-product that was used to create the finished work, then you will have a far better chance than simply saying you registered it first. If you have to go to court to defend a copyright, you have already lost.

There is a lot of content on my site that I wouldn't want copied, but I'm wondering, what good does it do to say something is copyrighted or "all rights reserved" if you haven't gone through the formal procedure to copyright it?

Think of it this way, there are still a lot of people who don't even realize that online content is protected by copyright law. It may not deter many, but it may serve as reminder to those who are unaware of the electronic form addendums that have been added to the copyright laws.

My solution is generally to have a statement that content may be used elsewhere as long as the byline remains intact and a link back to my website is placed with the content. So far, just about every time I've found my writing on the web, there has been a link back to my website (think SEO here :-)

Agreed.

[pywrit]

Howdy Dr

This simply doesn't make sense. If you have the work on your computer's desktop, then it has been "saved electronically."

Actually a bad choice of words on my part. "Tangible" should be "permanent." If it is simply open in a window, then you can close that window without saving it and the work, by the law's definition, no longer exists (though you may be able to retrieve it).

Say the above paragraph was copyrighted and I wrote this:

"Usually, if over 10% of the text is identical, it is considered a violation of copyright laws here in the US. Quite a bit of editing would need to occur to legally avoid an infringement. Although, it's easier to copy-and-paste the entire works of another, than to re-write content from the beginning."

The above is just too short to really use as an example. However, if you were to take a larger piece, say a several paragraphs, and commit it to the same treatment you did for the small paragraph, there would be grounds for copyright infringement. There is a very fine line between Fair Use and infringement and in many cases the decision is nothing more than the whims of a judge.

What would make the violation is not always how it is worded, but how it is presented. In the case of these two paragraphs, a judge would first look to see if there was a verbatim quote which would be the obvious tip-off. Then he would look to see if the same information was presented in a similar style. If, in his opinion, your paragraph was obviously inspired by my paragraph, then he would look to see if a) there was a sufficient amount of evidence to say it was definitely taken from my paragraph and whether it fit into the guidelines for Fair Use. The distinction between Fair Use and infringement is fuzzy and often hard to determine. A case in point is a history writer a couple of years back (Stephen Ambrose) rewrote several passages from another book. It was rewritten much as you rewrote my paragraph, yet the judge determined there was enough evidence to suggest that he had plagiarized the original author's work, claimed it as his own, and thus violated the copyright laws. Yet if he had simply quoted the original author and given credit, the case possibly would have gone in his favor.

To give an idea of how broad copyright can be, it can even cover such things as fan fiction. Say you write an original Star Trek story with new characters and new ships (simply placing it in the Star Trek universe) and publish it on the web for free. You are not making any money off of it, yet you are still violating Paramount's copyright because they hold the intellectual property for Star Trek (and the trademarks such as USS Enterprise ) which is also addressed under the copyright laws and they have every right to prosecute (one of the advantages to registering your copyright).

Now, even if you found someone who stole it word for word, you need to find them to serve them with a lawsuit. Then your lawyer is going to have to prove it in court. Then, if you prevail in court, you need to have the judgment enforced. The stolen material may then "pop-up" on a different site. How many times are you going to pay to have your copyrights defended?

I totally agree here and I really hope MaineWeb is now getting a feel for how sticky copyright laws can be. It is not simple and lawyers specialize in the subject for a reason and sometimes even the experts can't agree on whether or not a violation exists. And the internet has made this a much more complex situation since it is that much easier to borrow words and ideas.

Bottom line, it's easy to steal words, it's much more difficult to copy good service. Stay focused and keep moving forward. Cheap imitations are not worth the trouble.

I completely/totally/wholeheartedly agree here.

Jeff

[khurramali]

This discussion is only one sided, we should also see the other side.
From the eyes of the person who is stealing or copying.

Well, he is just re-discovering, why should he re-invent the wheel when it is already there.

Also see this from the 3rd world perspective.

People who are living in under-developed and 3rd world countries can't afford to buy licensed software or pay hefty hospital bills for patented medicines for HIV etc.

Then comes along open source software. Which is putting a big dent in the incomes of companies like Microsoft etc?

This discussion can easily get very complicated.