What can a site do if someone copies content from the web site?
If the web site owns the copyright to the work posted on its site, then the web site owner can enforce that right in court against anyone who copies its work without permission. A copyright exists once something is written, drawn, recorded or otherwise put into tangible expression. Unlike a trademark or a patent, a copyright need not be registered with the federal government. However, before a site can sue for copyright infringement, the site owner must register or at least be in the process of copyright registration in the U.S. Copyright Office. This is a complex area of law and a web site owner should consider consulting with an experienced attorney because certain recoveries against an infringer are precluded by registration after infringement has begun. If you don’t want to register, it is a good idea to put others on notice that you have the copyright and thereby discourage them from copying. This notification can be accomplished by simply putting the familiar circled letter “c” (
Related Questions
- A Web address (URL) does not necessarily indicate that the site has inappropriate content. How can I tell what type of content is on a web site?
- We already have a Web site. Can we use SchoolSitePro to update the content in our existing site?
- Web Site Content - What kind of material should my site contain?
