MediaVision Blog : Search Engine Marketing

No one really likes wading through the ins and outs of legal issues. I’m not sure that lawyers even like the law. So the thought of registering copyrights and willingly entering a legal quagmire is not something that appeals to our sense of fun. Most of us would rather sleep on a bed of nails and walk through fire than endure a trial. We don’t believe that we would ever file a suit against anyone, so the need for copyright is negated. There are, however, two important theories advocating copyright that counteract this reasoning.

The first is the theory of deterrence, which functions in roughly the same way that the threat of prison is supposed to deter potential criminals from committing crimes. In the case of copyright infringement, the prospect of having to pay statutory damages is the overarching deterrent. In all likelihood, it probably has the same success rate as the criminal justice system.

The second theory regards settlement. The rationale behind this theory is that your case is far more likely to be settled in your favour if there is more evidence backing your right to the material. As a result, more obstacles are placed in the way of the defendant’s right to the claim.

There is also the thorny issue of what is eligible for copyright. You can claim for all of your original content online, this includes text, graphics and sound. Specific examples include emails, blog posts and the original content on web pages.

As with all rules there are exceptions. Ideas, procedures, system and methods of operation are not protected by copyright. Also not protected are facts and mechanical and clerical content. In certain instances it’s acceptable to use copyrighted material, provided it’s for “fair use”. This means that the material can be used for news reporting or teaching purposes.

Trademark and copyright are closely related concepts designed to protect tangible intellectual property, and are often interchangeably. There is, however, a difference between the two. Trademark is designed to protect branding, and so covers names and short phrases – logos/slogans. Copyright, on the other hand, protects content on a general basis.

One of the primary obstacles to the registration of copyright is the perception that it’s a waste of time seeing as how original content is automatically protected. While this is true, the process of registering copyright and giving notice that the material is protected by copyright will ensure that, at the very least, your lawyer’s fees are paid by the infringer.

A “notice of copyright” informs all who visit your site and view your content that your work is protected. A “notice of copyright” will eliminate the opportunity of material pilferers to claim that the theft was unintentional. While giving a “notice of copyright” doesn’t serve the same function as registering copyright, it offers some measure of protection without going through the hassle of the registration processes.

A “notice of copyright” should notify the public that the content is copyright protected. This can be done with the internationally recognised copyright sign, ã, the simple word “Copyright”, or with a double-barrelled approach “Copyright Ó”. You must indicate to whom the content belongs. Usually this is the original author, but if it was written for work then the employer owns it. The date of the original publication should also be included, as well as all dates on which the content was revised.

The process for registering your online copyright depends on your location. In the US, registration is done through the US Copyright Office and involves paperwork, payment of fees, and posting all materials and copies concerned to the copyright office. Different countries will have different procedures.

The question of whether or not registering copyright is worth the trouble is ultimately one of personal choice. The whole point of copyright is to protect the owners of content. This is especially important now days considering that the contributors of content to the net are increasing daily. Very few of them belong to larger corporations or entities how have the luxury of legal departments to handle messy legal matters. Copyright is effective in protecting the “regular” contributors as well as the powerhouses. A final point to consider, the difference between registering your copyright and not registering it could be 15k in lawyer’s fees vs. being awarded 150k in damages.