Do I Have To Copyright Everything Separately?

general questions about copyrighting website material

[luckypath]

Hi, guys.
I need a little guidance. Some entities have shown interest in purchasing my website and I am considering selling, but first I need to take a few steps to feel safe.

*First...since I am going to sell, and I don't have anything copyrighted yet, should I even bother and justlet the new owner deal with that. I Would turnover all of title to them anyway.

*Would I have to wait the 3 to 6 months until I received copyright confirmation to be legally protected if I do copyright myself? I wold like to relaunch immediately after completing my application.

*I have several sectons on my website that should be copyrighted as a collection. However, I am sure that some of these sections names are copyrighted but I haven't found any that are very popular or in the same field. So, if I were to copyright ,say, "Yahoo.com's Sportscenter" would that be in violation of "ESPN's Sportscenter"? The technicality being that "Yahoo" is included in the copyright application title.

*Do I have to copyright each new work and each new section that I add or does the initial copyrightprotect all original material that appears on my site?

*Many of the sections have unique sections as well (similar to Letterman's "Top Ten List" , for example). Will the names of these smaller sections be protectd or do I need to apply separately?

[BlueSky]

Welcome to WebmasterWorld

I recommend you learn the difference between copyright and trademark. You cannot copyright individual words or phrases like "Yahoo.com's Sportscenter", but you can trademark them. I haven't checked USPTO, but I suspect Yahoo and ESPN are registered trademarks. You would have to look up whether "ESPN's Sportscenter" or "Sportscenter" are registered. Then you should determine whether or not your use is infringing on their trademarks. If you are, they could sue you.

Most countries recognize the moment you create something you automatically hold the copyright on it. In the US, you don't have to register your material with the Library of Congress. Most do not for websites. It does serve as an archive though to prove you are the copyright owner and when it was created should you need this proof sometime in the future. To take legal action though, you don't have to formally file as long as you can somehow prove those elements. You can register everything under one filing or do separate ones.

[utica]

In the U.S., your work is automatically copyrighted when you publish it. You do not need to register it to lay claim to the copyright. You should have © yourname and year of publication at the bottom of every page to indicate your ownership.

This, of coarse, only pertains to work that is your property and to which you have a right to copyright.

There are advantages to registering your work with the copyright office [copyright.gov]. For example:

"If registration is made within 3 months after publication of the work or prior to an infringement of the work, statutory damages and attorney's fees will be available to the copyright owner in court actions. Otherwise, only an award of actual damages and profits is available to the copyright owner."

Just put the whole site on a CD and send it in with the $30 fee. If any problems come up later, this will give you added protection in court and leverage with any lawyers you come up against.

[luckypath]

Thanks for the responses. I wanted to avoid any trademark filings becase they're so much more expensive than copyrighting.

So here are a couple of other questions:

*If the title of my website is a word that I've made up, can I copyright that and is it enough legal protection?

*The most unique things about my site are
the layout and interface. You were right in suggesting I differentiate between trademark and copyright. I am not so much interested in protecting the content from being reposted, but making sure that the unique concepts of my site (such as logos and games) aren't ripped off. Without spending a fortune on trademarking, will I be protected? Do the same automatic assumptions apply as in copyrighting?

[mgream]

You cannot copyright a word / title; if you need this protection, you should seek a registered trademark. In the UK, there is the concept of an unregistered trademark through actions of passing off, and you could use the symbol "TM" to indicate what you consider to be a trade mark. You can only use the symbol "(R)" with registered trade marks.

If you're considering selling, why are you concerned about copyright and trademark? This is going to be the purchasers problem after they have bought it from you.

As part of the sale, you should have a written terms of sale that make it clear that you are assigning all of the copyright and related rights in your website over to the purchaser (if the purchaser is savvy, they will insist this of course).

If you are concerned that they are going to not purchase, but instead steal your content and style (i.e. if you fail to reach an agreement on a purchase price / etc), then be a little less concerned because the fact that they have entered into a dialogue with you means that should they steal your content or style, you have a stronger case against them due to the evidence of their interest in your site.

Or, are you trying to sell a single copy of the website, or an exclusive license, or so on, or are you trying to retain rights in the "style" of the website, so that you can create something new along the same format?

It's not clear to me what you want to do and how your concerns about copyright and trademark are helping you?

[luckypath]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, my main interest is protectng my website in case the interested party decides not to purchase but instead creates a similar site. This is of great concern to me being that the website's only assets are the domain name and the layout.I have no staff and and no servers. Do you happen to know if the "unregistered trademark" concept applies here in the US.

Moreover, as you say, once a company enters into a dialogue with me I shouldn't be so concerned, but since I woud like to make it more widely known that the site is available for purchase to make bidding more competitive ,I am concerned that others will realize they don't need to deal with me at all and simply copy my entire unregistered site .

[mgream]

You can only really rely upon copyright, perhaps trade mark but I don't think that will benefit you; and design rights don't apply to websites, and look'n'feel copyright / etc is a grey area.

If someone infringes the copyright in your website, the you have remedy through DMCA and existing legal system.

If someone sees that your website is a workable business and decides to enter into competition with you by using similar approach, then there's really not much you can do: this is economic competition at work.

I am unsure about unregistered trade mark in the US. An IPR specialist can tell you.

[techiemon]

utica said:
"In the U.S., your work is automatically copyrighted when you publish it. You do not need to register it to lay claim to the copyright. You should have?yourname and year of publication at the bottom of every page to indicate your ownership."

What if you are a US citizen but not living in the US, but your website site is located on a US server? Is your content still automatically copyrighted?

[mgream]

As a result of the Berne Convention (~ 150 signatories) and the WTO TRIPS Agreement (~ 176 signatories) [which requires adherence to the terms of the Berne Convention other than the clause on moral rights], then nationals from one country are afforded equivalent treatment in other countries for copyright and related IPR. This means that you can create content pretty much well anywhere in the world and it is protected most everywhere else.

[photocartoonist]

Her are some great resources and articles:

Running your Graphic Arts Business like a Business [commarts.com]

Articles for Website Designers and Site Owners [ivanhoffman.com]

There are many, many great reasons to register you work with the various copyright offices. I am in the US but I also register my work in Canada and am looking into registration in the EU.

In some respects the US copyright laws are behind the rest of the world. The US was only accepted into the Berne convention in 1988 AFTER we updated our own copyright laws.

A registered copyright is defacto proof of ownership in a court of law and even if you have not registered a work before an infringement, to file a lawsuit in the US you must register the work.

I recommend that you read as much as you can about the laws and the remedies. And also start a relationship with a good IP attorney.

[mgream]

You cannot register a copyright work in the EU, the concept does not exist. Relaxing the rule on registration was one of the key changes necessary for the US to adhere to the Berne Convention: the convention agreement is that works attract copyright without the need for registration. I would expect that in the coming years, the US courts would relax the requirement that registration is necessary prior to litigation.

[ccDan]

I didn't see an answer to the "unregistered trademark" in the U.S. question, so I thought I would jump in and answer it.

I am not a lawyer, but to the best of my knowledge, the concept of the "unregistered trademark" does apply in the U.S.

Adding a "TM" (or "SM" for service mark) to your logo or name does give you some protection. It does indicate to the public that you are making a claim on that name or mark. It's also helpful to establish the first use of the mark in commerce so that you have a date to use.

You should first check to make sure that no one else has registered your name or mark (or one that is "confusingly similar") before you start using it and add the "TM".

There is no cost to add the "TM". It's similar to an unregistered copyright. You don't have the full protection of a registered trademark, but you do have some protection.

In many states, you can also register your mark within your state to prevent other businesses in your state from using it. This is usually just a small fee, and not nearly as expensive as a registered trademark.

I don't have an answer as to the extent of protection an unregistered trademark provides, but it does help.