Your web site has been up for a few months and you are making money hand over foot. While surfing sites one evening, you are shocked to find a competitor using your design. You find out your designer sold them the same design. They must be breaking the law, right? It all depends on whether you own the copyright to your web site design. Many site owners are shocked to find out they do not.
What is Copyright?
Copyright is a method of protection for authors of original works such as literature, computer programs, music, artistic pieces and photographic images. The protection provided by copyright arises under Title 17 of the United States Code. A copyright gives the owner the exclusive right to do or authorize others to: reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies, publicly display and generally use the material that carries the copyright in exchange for something, typically a royalty or fee. The copyright owner often grants this use through a license agreement, but can sell it outright.
Who Can Claim Copyright?
Copyright protection is created IMMEDIATELY upon the creation of a fixed form of the material in question and granted to the person that created the material. For instance, I automatically own the copyright to this article upon completing it. I am not required to file for an official copyright with the US Copyright Office to prove that I am the owner of the content. However, if I want to sue a person for using my article without permission, I must first register it.
What If I Hire Someone To Create A Web Site For Me?
If you hire a person or company to handle the design of your site, the complexities of copyright become a major issue for you. Specifically, the issue of "work for hire" is critical in determining whether you own the design.
"Work for hire" refers to the relationship between your business and the person creating your web site. If this person is an employee of your business and creates the material within their scope of employment, then your business owns the copyright. However, what happens when the designer is not an employee? In such a situation, the following must occur for the copyright to automatically transfer to you. The work must be specially ordered or commissioned for use as:
It is my opinion that the design of a web site does not fall into any of the above categories. As a result, you do not own the copyright to the design and can do nothing about the fact that one of your competitors is using the design. Obviously, this is not the answer that most site owners want to hear. So, what can you do to protect your business?
When you hire an outside party to design, alter, amend or improve your site, you must have them sign a written contract. The contract must include a clause clearly establishing that the copyright to the material produced is vested with you, not the designer. You should then file the contract with your important documents as some designers "forget" that assigned the copyright to you. Presenting a copy of the contract and noting that it allows for the recovery of attorney's fees usually solves the problem.
The issue of copyright ownership of a web site or aspect of a site pops up often. Finding your design being used on another domain is bad enough, but it can get worse. If you sell your business, the attorney for the party purchasing your business will always ask about the copyright of the site as part of the due diligence process. More than a few business deals have fallen apart when the lack of copyright ownership is discovered. Obtaining copyright at the outset of your business effort will avoid serious problems in the future.
About The Author
Richard Chapo, Esq., is with http://www.sandiegobusinesslawfirm.com offering business law advice to California businesses. This article is for general education purposes and does not address every facet of the subject matter. Nothing in this article creates an attorney-client relationship.
Airbnb cleaning service Arlington Heights ..It is a well-known fact that a successful business depends... Read More
A "template" is simply a design format which you can... Read More
They may look cutting edge, but if you want a... Read More
Your web site is like your car. Both are significant... Read More
Creating your own website can be fun and easy, as... Read More
Good websites stand out from the masses of boring, hard... Read More
With the advent of the Internet a whole new vista... Read More
Dear web site visitor.I can't tell you how glad I... Read More
Graphics are fun, but if you put in too many... Read More
In this article I will give a few tips of... Read More
A question we frequently get asked is, "how do we... Read More
Some wise human once said "Learn from the mistakes of... Read More
Designing your website means you have to be creative, plan... Read More
A highly effective website will always reflect its highly effective... Read More
One of the most popular methods of traffic generation is... Read More
With so many different configurations internet users have their computers... Read More
Since I made the switch 6 months ago to a... Read More
Nope. You certainly don't need a website.But you don't need... Read More
Not all links are created equal.While all of your links... Read More
As search engine marketers, we spend an enormous amount of... Read More
Want to know what the worst thing to say on... Read More
Know what you wantMake sure you know why you... Read More
By following feng shui guidelines and techniques, you can build... Read More
Does your website need a re-design? Here are some questions... Read More
The effective design is this one, which is maximum simplified,... Read More
reliable maid service Winnetka ..Did you know that many folks make "buying decisions" when... Read More
Every day internet marketers are inundated with the latest fad... Read More
So you want to build a website here I will... Read More
I once created a notepad-like editor. It is possible with... Read More
The solution lies in creating a 'Database driven website', through... Read More
In my last article entitled, Maximizing The True Value Of... Read More
If there's one thing that I've learnt so far, it's... Read More
Many businesses want a simple website where they tell people... Read More
A few years ago a lot of websites utilized frame... Read More
I taught myself HTML back in the mid-nineties and was... Read More
To explain my point I need to first confuse the... Read More
There are literally thousands of different options, styles and formats... Read More
The problem with designing your site as a graphic, is... Read More
Web Site Awards are given from other sites to reward... Read More
10 Ways Web Site Text Can Impact Your Reader's Buying... Read More
We will take a look at why your visitors may... Read More
1. What's the purpose?The most fundamental thing to do before... Read More
What is web usability & why is it important?Web usability... Read More
An application is not ready for use unless you have... Read More
CSS is a new option for website designers that have... Read More
Choosing the right typeface for your website copy is important,... Read More
Everyday we hear that another company goes out of business.When... Read More
Creating your own website is actually easy in today's world... Read More
A well designed web site is great to have, but... Read More
Automating your online business is one of the most important... Read More
Web Design |