Forum Moderators: not2easy
In about a month or so i'm starting my first commercial website. I'm starting this website with a team of 3 people, but our funds are limited.
1.) When should a website get a copyright?
2.) Does it costs money, and is there anything wrong with simply putting all rights reserved?
3.) What would be the danger of not having a copyright?
4.) Without getting a copyrights, do i still have any rights over my content and design etc.?
If you way a layer of secure protection, then perhaps make hard copies of the content, package it with a backup version of the website and send it to yourself via registered mail and don't open the package. This way if you have to provide evidence that you own the copyright to certain material you can present this as evidence.
Trademarks (branding) and patents (processes, technical methods, etc) are different though - usually registered via country specific agencies (government).
Scott
package it with a backup version of the website and send it to yourself via registered mail and don't open the package.
Sorry, I am pretty sure this method is a myth and has doesn't hold up in court.
EDIT:
I’ve heard about a “poor man’s copyright.” What is it?
The practice of sending a copy of your own work to yourself is sometimes called a “poor man’s copyright.” There is no provision in the copyright law regarding any such type of protection, and it is not a substitute for registration.
You can use a registered mailed version of your copyright material to assert ownership of the material in a dispute, which is usually enough to resolve it.
If, in the US (at least), you wish to sue for monetary compensation over copyright violation, then you are required to have registered the material with the US copyright office.
Source: [whatiscopyright.org...]
In reality for small company it is rarely going to progress to that extreme and if so then it will be incredibly difficult for most to win compensation in such a claim to justify the cost and time involved.
There is no such thing as International Copyright protection, with copyright laws being subject to local country legislations. However most offer protection to forgeign works under certain conditons.
Countries who have copyright relations with the US: [copyright.gov...]
And some information on copyright conventions: [encyclopedia.com...]
Scott
and zip my webpage and email it to my gmail account (whats the point in this? and why not open?)
i'll be ok?
[edited by: lajkonik86 at 1:35 pm (utc) on April 20, 2005]
You can use a registered mailed version of your copyright material to assert ownership of the material in a dispute, which is usually enough to resolve it.
And what do you do if more than one person disputes your copyright? Since your registered package was opened for the first offender (if he happened to be in the same town -- or will you be flying out to meet with every offender?), you would no longer have any "proof" of your copyright. What then?
Eliz.
so if I simply put "Copyright 2005 mycompany" and zip my webpage and email it to my gmail account (whats the point in this?) i'll be ok?
I have registered my copyright with the Copyright Office. In addition, I have put my copyright notice all over my content, am listed in all the search engines, and am documented in "The Wayback Machine". That hasn't stopped people from stealing my stuff (frequently for profit), and even accusing me of having stolen it from unknown (hypothetical) third parties.
Telling the offender, "Oh yeah? Well, I've got a copy of my document in one of my e-mail boxes!" isn't likely to impress a thief, and certainly won't have any standing in court.
Sorry.
Eliz.
"A federal law passed in 1998, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, makes it clear that materials published on the Internet are protected by U.S. copyright laws."
You may ask yourself: did he just violate this law by posting the above excerpt? Read below from the same website.
"Copyright law allows "fair use" of small parts of copyrighted works without the permission of the author."
I'm just trying to help here.
Ron
1. Read the US government website at length. It's a well written site and understandable site. No surprise there, right?
2. If you still have questions then find a lawyer that specializes in copyright law.
I've practiced law for a living for 20+ years. That gives me a little bit of insight. People here at WebmasterWorld are helpful by nature. Sometimes we are helpful beyond our expertise and you end up getting what you pay for.
Read the copyright.gov site. Follow their easy to follow advice. If you can't grasp the copyright.gov site then you really need to sit down with a lawyer. You get a higher degree of protection is you follow their guidelines.
You can use a registered mailed version of your copyright material to assert ownership of the material in a dispute, which is usually enough to resolve it.
On what basis do you say this?
I did post my source. ;)
With reference to a "dispute" I would define it as non-legal proceedings - ie some @ss has copied your content and you / your lawyer has contacted them asking for it's removal. In such an instance, the threat of evidence is more than enough to resolve the matter in my experience. A step further, actually presenting this evidence to the offender or their representation should remove all doubt.
But this is generally applicable to cases where you are clearly in the right and they are clearly in the wrong. This is what I referred to when I posted above.
The murky area (where legislation comes into to help) is when both parties maintain they are in the right and it is likely to end up being fought in court.
Scott
Sorry if I steared to the left, but this is my way only and it's not advice.
Ron
On what basis do you say this?
I did post my source.
Please provide an exact URL and a quote supporting the legal validity and documented efficacy of the "poor man's copyright". Thank you.
Eliz.
Is The "Poor Man's Copyright" Okay? Probably Not. [copyrightauthority.com]
Debunking the "Poor Man's Copyright" [registermycopyright.com]
"My friend and I have a bet about the 'Poor Man's Copyright'; who wins?" [musicbizadvice.com]
Warnings and Cautions for Writers [sfwa.org] (See Myth #6)
Common Myths Regarding Copyrights [funnystrange.com]
This is too much for me!
Asking webmasters for copyright law advice? What next? Asking webmasters for skin disease advice?
Well i'm asking webmasters about a problem most of them are likely to have encountered. If i would be asking them about divorce advice or something like that your post would make sense.
Now it's really a bit of nonsense.
isn't this forum called Content, Writing and Copyright?
One of the problems is that except for Copyright Office [copyright.gov] which Webwork cited, none of the other sites mentioned are authorative in any way. Would you want to risk your business because you were referred to a thread called "My friend and I have a bet," or because you took the advice of a "financial tax law" attorney who does "not purport to be an expert on intellectual property legislation?" Or take advice from a site that is going to charge you three times the amount of doing it yourself (if you decide to register)?
The only thing you can really do is to go to the copyright office site. Read, read some more. It actually does answer most of your questions--authoritatively! Decide what questions you still have, then when you run down to your IP attorney to get some answers you'll have some solid background.
By the way Jeff, about that consult I asked for about the skin rash? Maybe having a lawyer take a look at it is as bad a course as asking a webmaster.
[webmasterworld.com...]
(legal) advice should be sought only from a qualified legal professional in your jurisdiction who can review your facts and circumstances in detail.
3 of the 4 questions you presented were in their essence requests for someone to interpret the law for you. The title of the forum doesn't grant us a license to render legal opinions any more than a forum entitled "Medical Websites" would add weight to opinions expressed therein about skin diseases. ;0)
Now it's really a bit of nonsense.
No, not really. It's actually out of a concern for member's well being that we don't render legal guidance, even if some of us are somewhat more qualified to speak, by general experience or degree. The only charter appropriate response to "I can't afford a lawyer but I have these specific questions about how copyright law will be applied to my business practices" is to advise you to read the copyright.gov site. IMHULO that's excellent advice as the Copyright.gov site is very well written in layman's terms.
In My Honest Unofficial Legal Opinion
If the content is worth that much to you, then pay the $30 USD to register it.
The beauty of actually reading the Copyright.gov website is that it consisely and authoritatively answers so many questions that are repeatedly raised here and what's more, the act of reading Copyright.gov, creates awareness of issues that people have no idea exist.
I've found in 20+ years of helping people with legal issues that when it comes to government rules, statutes/laws, etc. it is often the lack of awareness that served as the starting point of people's legal entanglements. It's most often what someone doesn't know that hurts him or her.
Put in context, if you are going to act, work, make your living, rely on others to produce work for you, etc. then it behooves you to spend the time reading the Copyright.gov website and other sites dealing with publication. Why? Because you can avoid pitfalls and protect your interests better if you do. You spend hundreds if not thousands of hours engaged in the practice of writing copy why not spend ten or twenty hours learning something about the legalities of what you are involved in?
There are some great online resources and some not so great resources in copyright. Copyright.gov ought to be the first place we send (insist?) people when they have specific questions about copyright law. A hour or two spent on the site is likely to yield long term benefits. It's a good example of the adage about "Giving a man a fish vs. teaching him to fish".
Copyright.gov ought to be the first place we send (insist?) people when they have specific questions about copyright law.
"I've heard about a 'poor man's copyright.' What is it?
The practice of sending a copy of your own work to yourself
is sometimes called a 'poor man's copyright.' There is no
provision in the copyright law regarding any such type of
protection, and it is not a substitute for registration."
