- A website is a collection of interconnected web pages located on the same server and maintained by an organization. The content on a website, such as writing, images, and videos, can be copyrighted but not the website structure itself. - To copyright a website, the content must be original, owned by the applicant, and clearly described. Copyright protection applies automatically when content goes live but registering the copyright provides additional legal protections. - Parts of a website that cannot be copyrighted include domain names, website layout/design, links to other sites, public domain works, and common symbols/icons. Employees' work is owned by the business but contractors retain ownership unless assigned in a contract. - To protect a website

1. INDIRA GANDHI DELHI TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY
FOR WOMEN
Subject - Cyber Laws & Rights
M. tech. 3rd Sem., ISM.
 By: Prashant Kr. Vats,
 M.tech., Ph.D.

2. How to Copyright a Website to
Protect It

3. Protection of content on web site
• Your business website is a valuable asset for
marketing, sales, and customer service power,
and you should protect it just like you would your
other business property.
• To be clear, you aren't copyrighting a "website,"
but you can copyright the contents of that
website, including blog content and other writing,
original artwork, and images. You also can't
copyright your domain name, but you may be
able to include it as part of an overall trademark
application.

4. What Is a Website?
• A website is defined by the U.S. Copyright
Office as "a webpage or set of interconnected
web pages, including a homepage, located on
the same computer or server (i.e., fixed
together on that computer or server), and
prepared and maintained as a collection of
information by a person, group, or
organization."
• In other words, a website is a structure
containing content. It's the content that's
copyright protected, not the structure.

5. Can I Copyright My Website?
• In general, work can be copyrighted if it is an original work and it is
"fixed in a tangible medium of expression" (something that is
printed or recorded or on an active website, for example). A
website is a structure containing content that can be copyrighted.
• Content on a website qualifies as intellectual property that can be
copyrighted if the work is original, is owned by the applicant, and is
clearly described. Your website is protected the minute it goes
"live" on a server; you don't have to register the copyright for it to
be effective.3
• Copyright protection on a website is for the content on that
site. The U.S. Copyright Office also says that content is "material
that is perceptible to the users of a particular website." It includes
just about everything from news articles, literature, blogs, music,
audio such as a podcast, webinars, games, and video.
• You can only copyright what's already on your website. The U.S.
Copyright Office indicates that the registration extends only to the
content presented with the registration. Any content you add to the
website later, or any updates to the website would require its own
registration.

6. What Can You Not Copyright?
• Here's a shortlist of parts of your website that you can't
copyright:
• Your domain name or URL isn't copyrightable, nor is the
layout, look, or feel of a webpage.
• Links to other websites don't reside on your website so you
can't copyright them.
• You can't copyright work that's in the public domain. These
works have no owners, either because the copyright has
expired or it's impossible to assert ownership.
• You can't copyright ideas, such as plans for future websites,
or functional design elements, because you can only
copyright what's in place on your website when you apply
for the copyright.
• Common, unoriginal material, such as names, icons, or
familiar symbols are not subject to copyright. You don't
own them.

7. Who Owns the Copyright?
• It's important to distinguish between an employee of your
company who develops a website or writes content for it as
opposed to an independent contractor (non-employee)
who does this work.
• The employee doesn't own the content or design of your
website – your business does. But if you hire an
independent contractor, this person owns what they
created, You will need an agreement with them that gives
your company an exclusive license to use it.
• Many websites include third-party content, like user ratings
or comments. The users own their content on your website.
You can transfer ownership of this content (and have it
included in your copyright) by requiring users to agree to
your terms of service. Then, when you apply for the
copyright, you'll need to confirm that the content has been
transferred to you by agreement.

8. How Do I Copyright My Website?
• Although it's true that you have automatic copyright
protection the minute the website content is put up
before the public; it's still smart to take a couple of
additional steps.
• Put a copyright notice on every page of your website,
including the year. The best way to do this is to have a
footer on every page that reads, "Copyright [date]
[company name]." And be sure to update the year
regularly. Some businesses include all the years of
copyright protection, as in "Copyright 2010–2019 XYZ
Company."
• Register your copyright. You can do this easily with the
U.S. Copyright Office. It should be registered under the
category "other digital content."

9. What If You Don't Copyright?
• Your website is ever-changing. You're probably
adding content to it all the time so you might not
want to register the copyright.
• You'll still be protected by putting the copyright
notice on your website. Just be sure to keep the
year on the copyright notice up to date and make
sure it shows on all pages.
• Is a Blog a Website?
• A blog is a type of website with original content
that's added by you or by others working for your
business. A blog can be copyright protected in the
same way and in the same category as a website.

10. How Do I Protect Parts of My Website?
• Protect Your Domain Name
• Be sure your business owns not only its website content, including graphics
and images and your domain name as well. A domain name is a unique
identifier on the internet. It appears like
"http://www.domainname.extension", such as
"http://www.domainanonymous.com".
• A domain name cannot be duplicated and it can't be copyrighted. When
you register your domain name, you get an exclusive name. But domain
names can be the same if they carry different extensions. For example, there
might be "domainanonymous.com", "doomainanonymous.net",
"domainanonymous.biz", or "domainanonymous.info".
• Buy the name under your own business from a reputable domain registration
service, but keep in mind that buying the ".com" extension leaves the other
extensions open to be taken by someone else. Someone could buy
"domainanonymous.biz" and start drawing potential customers away from
you.
• The "look" of your domain name is separate from its content. This look might
include a graphic like the famous Amazon arrow or Google's multicolored
"G." You'll have to register it as a trademark or service mark if you want to
protect your website's logo.
• Images
• You might want to copyright any original images on your website separately.
And if you use images, make sure that your use isn't plagiarism.

11. Defending Your Website's Copyright
• You'll have to be vigilant if you want to protect
your website's copyright. Register the copyright
and regularly monitor for plagiarism by searching
for copycats. Issue "cease and desist" letters if
anyone has plagiarized your site.
• You can protect your original website content by
adding copyright notices to each page, but it's
also a good idea to register your copyright. If your
site is complex or includes multiple authors, look
for a good intellectual property attorney to help
you.

12. India: Copyright Protection Of Online
Content

13. • With the ever-evolving social media and new
platforms, content is generated in gigantic
proportions. Every person is contributing to the
tera bytes of new online content on a regular
basis.
• Every person is an author of the content created,
assuming it to be an original content or
considered as original in the copyright
context. The content takes various forms, be it a
literary work (text), artistic work (images) or
cinematographic content (videos). Amongst
these, literary content is more prevalent and
more often created considering the relative ease
of its creation and communication. It is another
matter that a caricature can tell a story through
an image.

14. • What rights enures to the content posted on a social media site or
any other online medium. Online medium and social medium
presents unique opportunities and its own kind of challenges. It
enables the author to present his or her views, seek comments and
respond to such comments in quiet succession. Social media posts
many a times ends up as opinion, counter opinion and series of
comments by various persons. Is this post / feed free for all to copy
in any manner they deem appropriate?
• The answer would be a 'No'. The online content or feed in the form
of a text, image, video or music, assuming it to be an original
creation, would be protected as a literary work under the Copyright
Act. Original denotes the presentation of the chain words and not
the idea underlying the presentation. No person has the right to
copy it or use it without permission of the author like any other
literary work in the offline world. The post if it is a cartoon
caricature or image would be protected as an artistic work. The
post if presented in the form of a video would be protected as
cinematographic work. Under Section 14 of the Copyright Act, no
person without the permission of the owner of the work has the
right to copy, publish or communicate it to the public.

15. • However, the caveat is that the person who posts the content
should be aware of the terms of engagement with the media
platform on which these contents are posted as to the right of the
platform on this content. If the person has agreed to the condition
of the platform that any content posted on the platform would vest
ownership on the platform, then the author of the content can have
no reason to object if the content is being used by the platform.
• What right would arise in the case of series of comments on a social
platform? Would each comment per se qualify for protection or is it
only the entire chain of comments which would be entitled for
protection? This arises especially in the context that it is only the
entire chain of comments which would give a meaningful story or
context to the comments. Each comment would qualify as online
content.
• If the social platform is content neutral and does not claim any right
on the content posted by its users, the author of the comment
would have absolute rights over the comments. It is the literary
element of the text or comment which will stand protected and not
the opinion or idea in the comment. It is possible that the chain of
comments by various authors can also be protected as a collective
work with the numerous contributors being co-authors. Collective
work as the words denote are works of different authors put
together, like a magazine or newspaper.

16. • Copying of the content of another person without consent will invite
infringement action under the Copyright Act. However, the person who
asserts ownership should be the owner of the content, which could be by
being the author of the content or through an assignment of rights from
the author of the work. It is necessary to issue a takedown notice to the
owner of the platform and the person who has posted the content prior to
initiating an infringement action.
• Section 52 of the Copyright Act provides for various acts which do not
amount to infringement of Copyright like fair comment, use as part of
reporting on current news etc.
• When the content does not undergo frequent changes, it is advisable to
apply for copyright registration of the content prior to online
disclosure. This would provide an unimpeachable source of the creation
of the work.
• Some steps could be taken as precautionary measure to deter potential
infringers from copying your content by posting a notice that you assert
copyright in the content. Technology could be used to detect copying of
online content elsewhere on the web.
• Being online pirated content does not go undetected for a long
time. Users should be therefore vigilant and careful to not copy the
content of other users lest they invite legal trouble for themselves or
content shaming or charges of plagiarism from fellow contributors on the
platform.

17. Thank you