Copying my content

[Abbid]

Hi all,

Just have a quick question for you all.
Lets say i write some content for my website (a review of a film for arguments sake) and its not copied from else where and is my own thought and opinions.

After publishing it on my site, i find that the same thing is on a competitors site. Maybe they've changed a few words here and there or the layout is different but the general jist of it is the same.

What rights as the creator do i have? how would i go about protecting my own work?

Would i need to copyright my stuff? how do i do it? do i pay for a copyright 'license'?

If i do copyright me work, how do i got about suing (not sure if suing is the right word) the person that copied?

Any help would be greatly appreaciated.

 

[TestAPlug]

Aha a sticky one. I bought a picture through a distributer and have exclusive copywrite to it. I use it as my business icon. Somebody else has copied my logo and I approached them and they basically told me where to go. I got intouch with a few business solicitors etc and without spending £1000's I couldn't do a thing. They are in the same industry as me and I was frustrated. I posted another site exactly the same as theirs with a spelling mistake in the URL. I posted my contact details and advertised it for two months. I know its not an ideal solution but they are now out of business and my business is flourishing. I have since removed the site as it served its purpose. KEV

 

[FireFleur]

Copyright not copywrite, people

You automatically have copyright to all work you produce if you are not employed (work for hire).

You can send a cease and desist letter, to ask for the work to be removed and all copies in their possession destroyed. If they don't then you can push for civil proceedings against them.

What you have described is known as a derived work, and they can only use that in instances of fair use and then in only small elements, generally for obvious news reporting, there are not many gets outs for them if they are using it to advertise a site.

 

[bradleyt]

I deal with intellectual property all the time. The problem you will have is proving who wrote it. Unless you actually had the item copyrighted you cannot really claim anything. The best you can do is e-mail the other site and say something.

 

[Abbid]

bradleyt, what do you mean by 'actually had the item copyrighted'?

According to FireFleur 'You automatically have copyright to all work you produce'.

so how can you actually copyright an item?

 

[FireFleur]

You can register a copyright.

http://www.ipo.gov.uk/types/copy/c-about/c-auto/c-register.htm

Oh I am wrong, and was just right before.

So, let's say you can protect a copyright.

The decision will be done on balance of probability, which is not beyond a reasonable doubt.

So, if it looks like it is yours more than theirs then you will win, but a bit of proof does help.

US you can register, and generally have to when pursuing a legal case (you have it by default though on the work), though hmm I could be wrong again that is just something I picked up.

Correct with that one:

http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html#register

 

[FireFleur]

Technically you can register with a third party in the UK, though there are other mechanisms of proof, there is no Government body in the UK that you register with.

So, if you register with a couple of third parties, and they are above reproach, then their word carries a weight as a witness.

 

[Dimo]

I write songs and articles. Copyright is automatic with any creative work, but that means nothing to some people. It's easy to 'officially' copyright your material by lodging copies (signed and dated) with a bank or lawyer, or by the old method of posting copies of the material to yourself by registered post. However, in my view these are of little practical use because most of us can't afford to begin legal action in the event of material being copied.

With the advent of the Internet plagiarism is probably quite common - it's a doddle to do a search on a subject matter and simply adapt an existing feature to make it their own.

Much has been written about copyright law and it's something of a minefield. My personal view is that if you're penning something for a website it really isn't worth trying to protect it. Sure, you can paste a copyright symbol there but as with pictures, if someone wants one they'll usually take it and use it.

Unless anyone knows differently, IMO we're quite powerless in preventing it being 'borrowed' when we put creative content on our website.

 

[Dawg]

As Firefleur said, copyright is automatically granted to the creator unless they are an employee.

If you want to prove copyright is yours you can do things such as send yourself a copy by registered post, and don't open it when it arrives, or take a screen grab and print it with the date on the printout. None of the normal methods are universally accepted, and the agencies you pay are not, perhaps, very good value...

Claiming damages is trickier and in most cases not at all cost effective. You will have to prove not only that the copyright is yours, but also the amount of damage caused by someone else using it without authority. In many cases it is not worth pursuing as many things we create are actually worth very little.

You can always contact the offenders and try and put the frighteners on with a legal sounding letter. For the offenders who did so because they didn't know the rules this might work. For offenders who just don't give a damn this might not work.

I'd just move on.

 

[FireFleur]

There is quite a lot you can do now a days about it.

You can bring civil cases quite cheaply, if you have the proof then they will bear the costs. The cease and desist sets it up for you to show you were willing to sort the matter out outside of the courts.

And of course there is the DMCA (Digital Millienium Copyright Act).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMCA

www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf

Those are US, but there is a WIPO.

And there is:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EU_Copyright_Directive

There is a lot you can do, and in some instances copyright abuse can lead to criminal prosecution.

In one trade show, armed German Police descended on it for Patent violation on items, sure not copyright but in the same area. And of course RIAA has made a lot from protecting their own licences using copyright law.