Forum Moderators: not2easy
Eliz.
As Eliz says, the copyright authority in your country will be able to provide detailed information and advice. In general terms, a good copyright resource is at: [fairuse.stanford.edu...]
You should look up the Berne Convention via your favourite search engine. For want of a better description, this is the international framework for copyright law.
You might like to know that every WebmasterWorld forum has its own library of useful information/threads. There's loads of really good information about websites and copyright matters to be had. The link to the library can be found underneath the WebmasterWorld logo - top left - it's very much worth exploring.
For any specific legal advice, you need to consult with your legal counsel.
Good luck! :-)
Syzygy
from copyright.gov:
The way in which copyright protection is secured is frequently misunderstood. No publication or registration or other action in the Copyright Office is required to secure copyright. There are, however, certain definite advantages to registration.
you basically just need to publish and add your copyright notice to every page:
Before 1978, federal copyright was generally secured by the act of publication with notice of copyright,
Back in the day when musicians wrote a song they would often mail themselves a copy of it and store it away unopened with the date stamped on it. This method of proving the date if a copyright was recognized by the courts and was cheaper than actually registering.
A real Registered Copyright is only about $30.00 USD (from the US Library of Congress - I don't know what country the original poster is from). If it's worth protecting, surely it's worth $30.00?
Otherwise, your work is protected by copyright law the moment it is published. Registration makes your case that much stronger if you end up in court (and basically allows you to sue for more money, if I understand it correctly).
axgrindr said: It is not necessary for you to register...to own the copyright....
axgrindr said: Back in the day...they would often mail themselves a copy of it.... This method...was recognized by the courts....
Eliz.
The UK patent office has this to say about it:
it may help copyright owners to deposit a copy of their work with a bank or solicitor or send a copy of their work to themselves by special delivery (which gives a clear date stamp on the envelope), leaving the envelope unopened on its return; this could establish that the work existed at this time.
But I still wouldn't recommend it.
True enough. But when you later land in court, it will be more difficult to make your case, and you will be limited to damages that you can prove.
Correct, you must have missed the line in my post that reads:
If you have to prove in court that you are the original copyright owner of the website (or any content you create) then you might want to register
