copyrighting web sites?

[shelbyvi]

Hi,
I'm building a website to display my artwork and other stuff and I was
wondering about copyright, and realized I know nothing about it. It seems that most websites have a copyright notice at the bottom. Does that mean that the website has been registered with the copyright office? If it hasn't, is it of any value, or is it even illegal? I thought some of you here might have had some experience with this.
Steve Shelby

[mattsiegman]

You automatically, in the United States, have a copyright on anything you create. You can win a court case for copyright infringement -- but it'll be hard and chances even then are slim. You can register with the copyright office and you'll have a much better chance of defending your case.

I believe the only requirement is that you properly format the notice.

If I said "This post Copyright (c) 2005 Matthew T. Siegman. All Rights Reseved. This may not be reproduced in any forms without express written consent of the author." That would be a perfectly legal statement, and I'd have lega grounds to enforce it.

Basically, you create it, it's yours, and the US automagically copyrights it as yours.

[Spathiphyllum]

http://www.uspto.gov/main/profiles/copyright.htm

You'll need to review some copyright legal sites to get the various nuances to default, declared, and registered copyrights and the judgements for domestic and international claims.

The gist of it is that your creation is copyrighted the instant it is created. You need do nothing. The stated copyright notice that one adds tells everyone that you intend to defend the copyright though the legal result is typically minimal financial remuneration. Cease and desisit is about all one may expect from such protection. A registered copyright means that a third party (the government) has received a copy of your work and has a verifiable record. The legal result is that you have improved your standing considerably and would receive "damages plus" should your claim win in court.

default < stated < registered (legal standing- and money- wise)

[Vin DSL]

Never hurts to have something like this on your site...

http://www.lenon.com/modules.php?name=Docs

[shelbyvi]

Thank you all for your input. I have a question. If someone a couple years from now takes something off of my website and claims they created it, what proof do I have that that material was on my website in 2005. Just because it says copyright 2005 at the bottom of the page doesn't prove anything.
Steve Shelby

[Vin DSL]

I have a question. If someone a couple years from now takes something off of my website and claims they created it, what proof do I have that that material was on my website in 2005. Just because it says copyright 2005 at the bottom of the page doesn't prove anything.
Steve Shelby

http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://...lbyvision.com/

[Vin DSL]

Thank you all for your input...

Thank you!!!

I was just checking out my web site on the 'Wayback Machine'...

http://web.archive.org/web/200403041...p://lenon.com/

...and I didn't realize I was blocking them/it.

Here's the code:

RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^ia_archiver

Oops! At least it's nice to know my 'data miner' code is working...

[Spathiphyllum]

Thank you all for your input. I have a question. If someone a couple years from now takes something off of my website and claims they created it, what proof do I have that that material was on my website in 2005. Just because it says copyright 2005 at the bottom of the page doesn't prove anything.
Steve Shelby

Vin's suggestion of the Wayback machine is a good quick and dirty defense.

Another would be to run your site's pages through the W3C's validation parsers and have the outputted result include your source. Print those results out (they should be dated already) in duplicate, get the collection of pages notarized (optionally), and mail one copy of the collection to yourself via certified mail. Keep the other copy as a quick reference for utility handling, i.e. making copies for others/lawyers/faxes. W3C serves as a useful sortof third party legal validator of your site's material with a logged entry that could be subpeonaed if necessary.

Alternately, archive your site to CD (periodically), and mail the CD to yourself via certified mail. Print a copy of your source files to paper, again, as a utility record.

Remember not to open the contents of your certified letter(s) until you need them in court. The sealed documents/data should best be opened in front of a judge to prove that it wasn't manipulated at any point. Your utility copies should serve as honest production of evidence to the offending party. If they do not address your concerns, the unsealed, certified material is your trump card. Oh, yeah, and a decent attorney.

[shelbyvi]

Here's the code:

RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ^ia_archiver

What is the code for?

That Wayback Machine is really cool; thanks for showing me that. I think that answers my question.

Steve Shelby

[mattsiegman]

I've heard that the mail thing doesn't work in courts as well as it's claimed to.

But the basic rule is if you dont want it stolen, don't post it on the web.

[jason]

The best way to get protection is to file with the US Copyright Office. A filing will run you about $30 and will give you federal backing in the even of a dispute (still not a 100% guarantee of a decision going in your favor, but about the closest you can come to it). For more info about registering your website see http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ66.html. If you are really concerned about someone stealing your content, registering is the most practical way to go.

--Jason

[jason]

What is the code for?

Vin was referring to code he was using to prevent bots from indexing his site. As it turned out, something he was specifically blocking was the Internet Archive's indexer, so he was blocking his site from being indexed in the Wayback Machine. I suspect he posted the code to warn others who might be blocking it. If you aren't specifically blocking bots with your site then you don't ahve to do anything.

--Jason