4 steps to copyright your content
If content is the lifeblood of your business, especially content you create, you want to protect your investment of time and money you put into creating it.
Copyright is a form of legal protection provided to the authors of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic and certain other intellectual works. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works, including interoffice memos, blog posts, articles, newsletters, images, translations and website content.
Copyright does not protect ideas; it protects only the expression of these ideas.
The copyright owner holds the exclusive rights to reproduce, create derivative works, distribute copies, and publicly display or perform the work. These rights can be transferred in whole or in part.
According to the 1976 Copyright Act, copyright protects the expression of original creative content at the moment it's fixed in a specific medium, no matter what that medium is. So, if it's copyright-protected in print, it's also copyright-protected in the digital world as well.
In the digital age, it's easy to copy, paste, use or send content without giving any thought as to who owns it. So, here are four steps you can take to protect your original content:
1. Before you create your content, establish policies to protect it. Assemble a written company policy about who owns the copyright. While it would seem obvious that content created by employees would be owned by the company, don't just assume.
And don't forget about work created by contractors or volunteers.
2. Take a very simple step: Place a copyright statement to all original content in a location that is conspicuous — a title page or home page.
As of 1989, a copyright notice is no longer required under U.S. law, but it's beneficial. It reminds users that the work is copyrighted. This is particularly important for digital content because many people still subscribe to the mistaken notion that anything out there on the Internet is “free.”
A copyright statement should include:
• The copyright symbol — © — or the word "Copyright;"
• The name of the copyright owner (company or individual); and
• The year when the publication first became available to the public.
(Optional: Where to direct the reader about additional information about rights and permissions. For example: “ For requests to use this copyright-protected work in any manner, email xxxx@xxx.com or call xxx.xxx.xxxx.”)
3. Take the time to go a step further: register the copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office.
While it's not required, there are advantages. For example, it establishes:
• A public record of the copyright claim;
• Allows the filing of an infringement suit;
• Makes statutory damages and attorney's fees available to the copyright owner (if registration is made within three months after publication or prior to an infringement); and
• Allows the owner to record the registration with the U.S. Customs Service for protection against the importation of infringing copies.
4. Establish a policy to monitor use of your copyrighted content.
At a minimum, search the Internet regularly for the use of key, unique phrases.
Barbara Ingrassia is a certified copyright manager. Contact her at barb@motivactgroup.com.
WBJ Web Partners
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