Copyright
Intellectual property laws handle copyright for the web. Not only do these laws deal with copyright, but also trademarks, patents and trade secrets.
This can include -
- HTML codes
- images
- sound
- domain names
- product names
- navigation buttons
- computer software
- look and of a web page
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act passed in 1998 is the current copyright law in effect. This act protects digital copyrighted materials and prohibits technological codes to work around copyrighted materials. Copyright protection lasts the lifetime of the copyright owner plus an additional 50 years after that for works created in or after 1978. Prior to 1978, protection is granted for 75 years from the year it was first copyrighted.
What is Copyright?
Copyright is the intellectual property rights that given the originator exclusive rights. For example, you have copyright to your email as soon as you type it.
Don't assume that everything on the web is in public domain (materials not protected by copyright and freely available to anyone). It's best to assume that unless otherwise stated, anything on a page is protected by copyright. It's best to contact the web page owner for permission to use anything on a page.
What are the basic requirements for copyright protection?
- Original work
-
Creative enough to be different from other's works tangible
Your ISP can avoid liability in part by removing the unauthorized material or bring down the entire site.
You can certainly view the source code for any page. It is not legitimate to steal the entire code and do minor tweaks to it unless the page owner grants permission!
Fair use allows you to quote or reproduce a portion of an item in reporting events, reviewing a work, or in creating educational materials.
Fair use is determined by:
- Purpose and character of the use
- Type of copyrighted work
- Amount used
- Effect of the use on the market of the original work
Types of Copyright
Trademark law - words, names, symbols used by companies as an identifier. For example, Starbucks is a trademark. Slogans and logos are very much a part of trademark law. ® means the trademark has been registered with the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office. ™ means the trademark has not been registered with the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office. Trademarks not registered are protected only in the geographic market they service.
Trade dress law - presentation or overall look. For example, Starbucks protects the interior look of their shops. In the web world, a company may protect the colors, graphics, navigational tools, layout, fonts and distinctive look to a site. Thus, the look of a website may be protected under copyright law if it is original in its presentation.
Trade secret law - protects information that is not widely known. The web is moving toward e-commerce. Programming is used to create shopping carts and interactivity on the web. This "back-end" programming/scripts may be used to create a form for user input, transact purchases, or to verify user's identities. A development firm may utilize proprietary code in creating the back-end to a website. Will this be licensed to the user?
Copyright law - protects original works. Protects the expression of an idea but not the idea itself
Patent law - new, useful inventions and processes
How Does This Impact You?
Copyright protects the content, code and look of your website. Because a website contains so many different elements (text, graphics, images, code, scripts), each can be viewed as an individual work by itself and be protected by copyright.
If you wish to insert the picture of someone on your site, ask permission. Guidelines for this fall under the "right to privacy".
Something need not be officially registered to be protected by copyright law (although you are in a much better position if you attempt to sue someone over copyright infringement). The work does not need to include a copyright notice either. On the other hand, just because you insert a copyright symbol or notice doesn't automatically mean you own it. The symbol or notice just indicates that you assert your ownership.
Copyright provides you with:
- Right to reproduce the work in any format
- Right to prepare addition work based on this item
- Right to distribute copies
- Right to display it in public
Be aware that if you are hired or hire someone to create a site, check to see what wording is used in the contracts. A web company will specify that they "own" the content or design of a website. Content includes text, images, video and sound.
Rights can be transferred. For instance, you may use a page background that someone has put up for anyone to download and use on a web page. Thus, the owner transferred the right to copy and display the image to the owner of the website. Generally, the image owner may retain the right to license uses of the background. What if you want to modify the background? Any transfer of rights must be agreed in writing and signed by the copyright owner.
It is beneficial to post a copyright notice:
- Alerts others to the fact that you wish to protect the information contained and look of your site.
- Is easier to prove infringement
Format
copyright © by your name
(include both the word and the symbol)
It's even better to add: All Rights Reserved
The U. S. Copyright Office grants copyright registration.
If you create websites as part of your job, the employer is considered the copyright owner. If you create websites as a contract employee, the written contract between the employer and contract employee should state who has copyright ownership. Generally, copyright will go to the employer.
Links
You probably want others to link to your site to increase visibility and traffic to your site. But, you may want to monitor who links to your site. For instance, an artist would probably want to be careful which galleries link to his/her site.
How can you check? Most search engines allow you to do this from an advanced search page. Check the search engine's opening page for instructions on how to do this. Note that this may only check for links to your homepage and not your additional pages.
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