How can I copyright my website and business name without breaking the bank?
How much is it to copyright a website name and business name, logo, and how and where do I go about this?
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Are you in the US? If so, copyright vests as soon as your work is "fixed in a tangible medium of expression" (including computer code). Thus, someone cannot copy your website as their own as soon as it’s posted.
However, to get full protection, you must register the website with the U.S. Copyright Office. http://www.copyright.gov. It’s a pretty simple process — you pay $45 fee, fill out a form, and whammo you get a registration.
In the U.S. a registration is a prerequisite to sue anyone for infringment. In addition, you can only get "statutory damages" (a "fixed penalty" per infringement of a few thousand to about $30,000) if you register BEFORE the infringement occurrs.
Note that you CANNOT copyright a business name; you may or may not be able to copyright a logo — these are things that are normally subject to TRADEMARK protection. Trademarks are a little more cumbersome to get, as the examination process is much more detailed. See http://www.uspto.gov/main/trademarks.htm. But if you’re trying to copyright particular illustrations, or text on your website, copyright is the way to go.
If you have particular questions, see a licensed attorney who specializes in trademark or copyright law. That costs a few hundred dollars on the front end, but may be worth tons if you ever want to go after someone for using your intellectual property.
Free, put a little copyright symbol on the bottom of your website
You should try and get your copyright from a legal service online. They can save you time and money.
Try this link below:
First. The website:
You already have copyright on your website content – copyright is an automatic international right, – though as website content is (in my experience) one of the things most often copied by competitors, it is often worth getting your work registered so that you have proper proof of your work in case you need top prove it legally.
If you are a US citizen, you must register with the US Copyright Office (http://www.copyright.gov/) before you can make a claim in US courts, this also grants you statutory damages.
Registration with the US Copyright Office costs $45 and will take about 4 months to be dealt with.
For protection outside the US, there are various organizations that will register your work and prices vary, though you should choose carefully – I’ve seen quite a few dubious sites out there in my time….
My personal recommendation is the UKCS (http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/)
but even if you don’t use them, you should see the page http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/services/provision_policy which gives you an idea of what a ‘good’ service should provide you with.
A basic registration with the UKCS will cost £35 (if you register online) or £40 if you send a postal application. It should only take a few days to get your registration number through.
Strangely enough, if you are not a US citizen, you do NOT have to register with the US Copyright Office (under the terms of the Berne Convention, if a non-US citizen files a copyright law suit in the US they must be allowed to do so as if they had already registered in the US – it’s just they don’t get the statutory damages).
[http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap4.html#411 - now states 'any United States work' since Berne Convention]
Now the name:
Names are NOT subject to copyright in their own right, this is simply because copyright is too restrictive to be applied to something as short as a name.
Business names, trading names or the name of a products, (etc.) are protected under what is called ‘Passing off’ laws.
‘Passing off’ is when someone presents themselves in a way that may mislead potential customers into believing that they are dealing with you. You can take action to defend your business identity against competitors who do this.
A trademark may be used to protect a name. Trademarks are administered by national trademark offices, apply only in the country where the application was made, and tend to be issued for use within a specific trading sector.
You would need to contact your national trademark office for more on this.