Playing it Safe with your Website Content
As website owners we are always looking for content to add to our website, blog, social networking site etc. Many small businesses do not have a legal department that guides them through the foggy legalities of what is allowed and what isn’t. Unfortunately, the law is literally decades behind technology and it isn’t showing signs of catching up.
To help a few of our clients, we try to consult them on what is allowed and what is not. We are not attorneys nor do we claim to be experts. We merely look at past cases and offer guidance. When in doubt call your attorney. If you do not have an attorney familiar with copyright law we know a few people just ask.
To help let’s look at a few situations.
Online write up
Your company is referred to in an online article and you want to share it. Guess what? It isn’t yours to share. You must ask for permission from the author as well as the site owner. They may or may not allow you to link to it or not. Even if they do they may not allow you to directly link to the article but to a portal type page. So better be safe than sorry, ask…
Songs, Photos and Art Works
Most everyone has heard about the case against Napster and more recently Limewire. There are similar cases that have not been as public regarding photographs and art. Everything on the internet is copyrighted. If you took the picture, wrote the song, recorded the song, drew the picture… I think you got the point; you can use it without question.
Artists sell their pieces; Stock photography sites sell photography, graphic pieces as well as audio files. Some of these “stock” sites allow you to purchase but are limited on where you can use it as well as how many times you can use it (website, brochure, flyer etc).
Brochures & Flyers
You have a brochure created with stock photography and content. Unless you have made prior arrangements with the creator of the brochure that it is okay to publish it and you have purchased an “extended” license on the image you may not be able to post it.
Content
Content or text that is on another website is also copyrighted material. I tell many clients that want to write their own website content and have writer’s block to go check out other sites to get an idea of what needs to be said but never copy it. Copying website content from another website not only has legal ramifications but can and usually does kill your search engine rankings, referred to a duplicated content..
There are other cases as well. If you have a question on whether or not you can use it ask the owner but be careful since they may have “lifted” it from someone else.
With it being so easy to copy and paste, right click and “save image as” many companies have fallen prey to their content being “lifted” by other websites. Some laws have been passed to protect site owners. Knowing what you can and cannot do is a crucial part of your company’s online success.
One question that comes up often.
Should I register for a copyright of my information?
This is not required but there are benefits to doing so. If someone does “lift” your website’s content you have proof of the date it was registered. All that is really required is including ©Year Your Official Company Name.
