Protecting your right to the content on your own website is simple, but important. Image: Flickr / quinnanya / CC-BY
Legally, bloggers and website owners are considered both authors and publishers. While there is still a significant amount of legal grey area about a blogger’s responsibilities, there are some basic things you can do to protect yourself. One of the first steps you should take to legally protect yourself is include legal documentation on your website.
Ownership of content
Current copyright law in the United States says that as soon as something is published, then it is protected by copyright. The law also states that as soon as a comment is published, it is also protected by copyright. The copyright belongs entirely to the author of the content, unless otherwise released or indicated. This means that any comments or user-generated content on your website is protected by copyright that does not necessarily transfer to the website owner.
The most basic protection
In order to protect the copyright and your right to use content on your own website, you should have some type of Terms of Service or Privacy Policy. This could be something as simple as a single line above the comment box that says “all comments submitted to this website may be moderated, edited, or used by the website owner for any purpose.” You should also include a copyright symbol on every page of your website with a date, in order to have a more solid copyright claim.
More full-fledged protection
In many situations, it is prudent to protect yourself with a more full-featured Terms of Service and/or Privacy Policy on your website. If your website collects any user information beyond basic email address, or relies on reader-created content, then you need to have documentation that informs readers of this.
Be clear and concise
It can be very tempting to think that to be fully protected, legally, you need documentation that is written in thick legalese. Your Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, however, can be written in clear, concise natural language and still be legally enforceable. Something as simple as “We promise to never sell, rent, or share your email address with a third party. Your email address will be used to create a user account on this website, and to provide updates on service from time to time” is clear, simple, and legally enforceable. In short, just be as transparent and open about how information or content shared with your site will be used.
Please Note: We are not lawyers. When in doubt, it is always better to check with legal representation.
Why you should include disclaimers on your website
November 16, 2011 | by Andrea
Protecting your right to the content on your own website is simple, but important. Image: Flickr / quinnanya / CC-BY
Legally, bloggers and website owners are considered both authors and publishers. While there is still a significant amount of legal grey area about a blogger’s responsibilities, there are some basic things you can do to protect yourself. One of the first steps you should take to legally protect yourself is include legal documentation on your website.
Ownership of content
Current copyright law in the United States says that as soon as something is published, then it is protected by copyright. The law also states that as soon as a comment is published, it is also protected by copyright. The copyright belongs entirely to the author of the content, unless otherwise released or indicated. This means that any comments or user-generated content on your website is protected by copyright that does not necessarily transfer to the website owner.
The most basic protection
In order to protect the copyright and your right to use content on your own website, you should have some type of Terms of Service or Privacy Policy. This could be something as simple as a single line above the comment box that says “all comments submitted to this website may be moderated, edited, or used by the website owner for any purpose.” You should also include a copyright symbol on every page of your website with a date, in order to have a more solid copyright claim.
More full-fledged protection
In many situations, it is prudent to protect yourself with a more full-featured Terms of Service and/or Privacy Policy on your website. If your website collects any user information beyond basic email address, or relies on reader-created content, then you need to have documentation that informs readers of this.
Be clear and concise
It can be very tempting to think that to be fully protected, legally, you need documentation that is written in thick legalese. Your Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, however, can be written in clear, concise natural language and still be legally enforceable. Something as simple as “We promise to never sell, rent, or share your email address with a third party. Your email address will be used to create a user account on this website, and to provide updates on service from time to time” is clear, simple, and legally enforceable. In short, just be as transparent and open about how information or content shared with your site will be used.
Please Note: We are not lawyers. When in doubt, it is always better to check with legal representation.
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