Your intellectual property has inherent and intrinsic value. Everything from your logo to your branding is officially your intellectual property. If you trademark your logo, branding, company name, and tagline, then you will have the legal right to ensure that no other person can ever use those symbols or words to profit from. However, you have the right to your own intellectual property even if you do not have an actual trademark on your designs or original work. Anytime you place a design or original work into the stream of commerce or into the public, you have the copyright to it permanently. If someone attempts to steal that original work without authorization, you will have the right to file a claim against them. If you have a website, your intellectual property will be in view for anyone throughout the world to see, so it is critical that you have a website copyright policy in order to protect your designs, ideas, and other creations.
Why a Website Copyright?
Every person who creates a website for any reason should protect their intellectual property through a written copyright policy on their website. Copyrights fall under intellectual property law in the United States, and these laws protect an individual’s rights with respect to any of their originally created works including writing, photographs, artwork, computer software programs, designs, songs, logos, branding, taglines, company names, and other types of creations. It is important to note that a copyright will exist the instant a person creates a new piece of original work, and the copyright will rest with the person who made that creation.
That said, if you make the decision to include a copyright policy on your website, you are alerting all users to the fact that you are attempting to legally protect your original creations, and that you will pursue litigation if anyone attempts to infringe on your intellectual property rights. Adding a website copyright footer can ensure an additional layer of legal protection and put those who would seek to use your intellectual property for their own gain on notice that you have a vested interest in legally protecting your original works.
Including a Copyright Policy on Your Website
Websites are in the public domain, which is great for anyone who wants to sell a product or service. You can reach millions of people around the world through the internet and have a successful business that way. However, unscrupulous people can simply copy and paste your tagline, images, and content and then share them on their own websites or use them to promote their own products. This can hurt your brand in many ways. First, it may cause confusion between your brand and someone else’s product or service. Additionally, if Google notices that two websites have the same exact language, pictures, images, and other content, Google will actually demote both websites in the rankings. Because the Google bots cannot tell which website was created first or to whom the intellectual property actually belongs, Google simply drops both websites in the rankings. This can hurt your business as your visibility online and potential sales decline.
How Your Website Copyright Footer Protects You
While you do not have to give a copyright notice in order to prevent other people from stealing your content and images on your website, having a formal copyright policy and notice on your website alerts any potential cyberthief that you are taking your intellectual property rights seriously. Having a formal copyright policy on your website can send the signal to others that you may prosecute any infringement of your intellectual property, which can in turn help deter others from infringing on your legal rights regarding your online original works. In some cases, a potential thief may not understand intellectual property rights or website copyright policies and think that simply having a copyright policy on a website is actual legal protection of your website. This may deter them from stealing your content. However, legally speaking, you have a right to protect and keep your intellectual property without an official copyright policy.
Copyright Policies are Inexpensive
Attaching a copyright policy to a website is an inexpensive way to ensure that you are making an effort to protect your intellectual property rights as much as possible. This portion of your website is typically a separate page, or a website copyright footer, and takes up virtually no room on your site. It may assist you in the future if you ever do have to file a claim against someone who is attempting to infringe on your legal rights or steal your intellectual property. Having a visible copyright policy formally acknowledges that you claim legal ownership over your intellectual property throughout your website.
Creating a Website Copyright Notice
In order to create a valid copyright notice, you will need to include the copyright symbol or the words “copyright” or “copr,” the year of the publication of the website, and the name of the copyright owner. The reason to include all of these is that someone who attempts to infringe on your rights will have no reason to say at a later time that they did not know that there was copyright protection on the content they stole. You can place the copyright notice on the home page, typically as a website copyright footer. Additionally, you can create a separate page that explains all of your legal rights associated with your intellectual property and restricting access to the use of any of your intellectual property by others. Remember, your intellectual property rights are always protected, even if you do not create a copyright notice or a copyright policy on your website.
Contact an Experienced Intellectual Property Attorney
Some business owners attempt to create their own copyright policy for their website based off of other websites they have seen. While this may help you, if you are truly interested in attempting to protect your intellectual property rights, you should visit with an experienced intellectual property attorney who may be able to assist you with your unique legal needs regarding protecting your original content and creations. If you are interested in protecting your intellectual property, you may also want to consider filing for a trademark or other legal protection regarding your unique and original content. Consider visiting with an experienced business attorney at Itai Klein at (310) 295-2261 or fill out our online form today. We would welcome the opportunity to learn more about your intellectual property needs, and let you know how we can help ensure legal protection of your original and unique creations and content for your business.
