HOW TO COPYRIGHT A WEBSITE TO PROTECT YOUR IP
HOW TO COPYRIGHT A WEBSITE TO PROTECT YOUR IP
A couple of years ago, a friend of mine told me about one of her clients, an art gallery, that received a Cease and Desist Letter from a competitor accusing the art gallery of stealing images of artwork from the competitor’s website (copyright infringement). Along with the Cease and Desist Letter, the competitor included screenshots of each webpage on the art gallery’s website that it believed contained copyright-protected images of artwork that was currently hanging in the competitor’s studio and posted on various pages of the competitor’s website.
The competing gallery believed that it not only had an exclusive right to the images posted on its website, but also an exclusive right to the photos customers took of artwork and posted online.
This rabbit hole goes deeper, but the moral of the story is that your website and the content on your website is a valuable business asset. You use your website for sales and marketing, showcasing your services or products, educating and informing your audience, and driving credibility to your brand’s image and reputation.
Your website is valuable property that can be a powerful marketing tool. In this article, we’ll explore your options for protecting your online assets through Intellectual Property law (“IP law”).
Can You Copyright a Website and Its Content?
The short answer is “yes,” but the content you want to protect must (1) be original work that you authored or (2) be original work authored by someone who has given you permission or ownership rights to display their content on your website. Often, the website developer will own the website’s HTML code and theme; but you will likely own the photos, artwork, logo, blog articles, music, videos, and audios (e.g., podcasts and webinars).
You automatically have copyright protection for original works that you author and that have been completed in some fixed, tangle form (e.g., book, recording, music, video footage). IP law protects “literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works” from the time of completion. However, you have to formally register your copyright to actually exercise your exclusive right to your web content and sue someone for unlawfully stealing your content. Often, website owners think that displaying the copyright symbol and date at the bottom of their website is sufficient to put the public on notice of their exclusive ownership and use-rights; BUT frequently (and sometimes mistakenly), internet users think that website content is free to use or “borrow.”
Accordingly, the best solution to protect your website and its content from being hijacked is to have it formally copyrighted. Formally registering your website, webpages and/or specific web content puts the public on notice of your rights. In addition, the certificate of registration you’ll receive after registering your content can serve as evidence against an infringer should you choose to file a copyright infringement lawsuit against them.
Take a closer look: To understand how intellectually property is classified and whether you need copyright, trademark or patent protection for your original works, read this article – “Do I Need a Trademark, Copyright, or Patent?”
How to Protect Content Associated with Your Website?
What about the not-so-obvious web content and elements associated with your website? How do you (and can you) copyright content like your domain name, the layout of your site, a name or phrase, commonly used icons/symbols, or software?
This is where the waters get a little murky. Not all content on your website is copyrightable, and the United States Copyright Office (i.e., the governmental agency that accepts copyright applications) does not oversee all works that could be protectable web content. For example, logos, names and slogans are classified as trademarks that need to be registered with the United States Patent & Trademark Office; while your domain name is actually managed by a non-governmental entity called ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers).
Therefore, not all content on your website is equal. In addition, there are exceptions to IP law that allow free, public use of certain web content under the doctrine of “Fair Use.” In other words, under certain circumstances people can use content they did not create without it being considered infringement.
Take a closer look: If you’re a freelance writer, copywriter, blogger, video/film producer or marketing agency, this article is for you — The Freelancer’s & Agency’s Guide to Legally Using Copyrighted Publications & Images. Learn when it’s permissible under the Fair Use doctrine to use copyrighted materials for your projects.
Takeaway
Unfortunately, the more compelling, creative and attractive your website or its content, the more likely your competitors may want to mimic or illegally take your content and present it as their own. The best solution for protecting one of your best assets – your website – is to have it or its content formally copyrighted immediately or as soon as reasonably possible.
There are a number of rules and procedures at play when registering your copyright; and as stated before, not all content (even your best content) is copyrightable. So, when in doubt, ask and use a professional. Our legal team at Brim Law, LLC is here to help you navigate this process.
Your Thoughts: Are you thinking about copyrighting your website or specific content on your website? Have you determined which content is copyrightable and which content is not? If you’ve tried registering web content on your own, what do you wish someone would have told you before starting the process?
This article is intended to provide you with general information; it does not constitute any type of legal advice. For recommendations related to your specific matter, we encourage you to review our Practice Areas page for additional information and then contact us to discuss your company’s legal needs.