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The Following is an interview with Harvey S. Jacobs of Joyce & Jacobs: Writing That Works :
Intellectual property laws apply to Web sites An attorney reviews the basics of copyrights and other issues involving ownership of Web content and design. When you put original content in print or on the Web, you automatically have a copyright that is protectable, but don't expect to win damages for copyright infringement if you haven't filed with the Library of Congress, says Harvey S. Jacobs. On the other hand, expect to be sued if you use a downloaded image from someone else's site even if it doesn't carry the copyright symbol. Filing for copyright for a Web site resembles filing for copyright for a print publication. The Library's copyright office requires you to submit two copies of the final version or of a fixed version at a specific time. Jacobs usually sends both an electronic and a hard copy. Because Web sites change frequently, consider copyrighting the site under a compilation category as you would a magazine or e-zine. The law is still grappling with how to handle the new medium. The main thing you want to protect is your creative work. Even if you have used off-the-shelf software to design your site, you create something different from all other sites. Your content may include uncopyrightable facts-e.g., the listings in the white pages-but your formatting and linkages constitute creative work. Many don't bother to file for copyright. Some trademark their dot com instead of or in addition to copyrighting content. Most .com trademarks are only eligible for registration on the supplemental trademark register, but prominent or long-term use may make them eligible for registration on the principal register. Jacobs says trademarking is often a better choice than copyrighting the words because trademarking protects distinctive features. It also protects your domain name against cybersquatters. Jacobs describes a typical copyright case. A real estate company in Maryland is suing a California company for allegedly downloading 112 photos, stripping out the copyright symbols and putting the photos on their trademarked site. The Maryland company is asking for $100,000 in damages for each violation. More people violate copyright of Web than of printed material. That's partly because it's so easy to download, say, a captivating image and put it on your site. Even some who know that's illegal do it because they don't expect to get caught. Others don't see a copyright symbol so consider the image fair game. Jacobs reminds communicators that trademark, copyright and patent laws apply in cyberspace just as they do in print. If you want to use anything from a site not clearly labeled public domain, get permission and, if required, pay a fee. Put a copyright symbol on every Web page, he recommends. That way no one can claim ignorance. If you collect information from visitors, you also should put a privacy or terms-of-use statement or both on each page. If that seems like overkill, at least give a hyperlink to the statements on each page. The statements vary, but basically they tell how the site will and will not use the information visitors provide. Many state that the site will not sell or disseminate the information but will use it only to serve the visitor. While some areas remain gray, Jacobs urges communicators to remember that actions violating the law for print violate the law for the Web. WTW interviewed Harvey S. Jacobs, partner, Joyce & Jacobs, Attorneys at Law, 1019 19th Street, N.W., Penthouse 2, Washington, DC 20036; 202-457-0100; jacobs@internet-law-firm.com. To test your knowledge of intellectual property, take his IP Quiz (under News) at www.internet-law-firm.com. While visiting his site, note his handling of copyright and terms of use.
Sidebar-125 Who owns what's on your site? If employees write or design a Web site, the employer owns their work. If independent contractors prepare the Web site, they own their work unless they have signed a contract giving up their rights. They can sell their design, words or art to other clients. Harvey S. Jacobs recommends that organizations ask independent contractors to sign work-for-hire agreements that spell out the rights being purchased. Generally he aims for all rights in all media for all time. The attorney points out that it's much cheaper to negotiate rights-such as the right to put online an article written for print or a photo taken for a poster-while writing the contract than after the work has been done. Sidebar-142 Who controls links? Court decisions indicate that anyone can link to the first page of a Web site without payment or permission, says attorney Harvey Jacobs. Judges have frowned on deep linking-linking to a later page-without permission. Jacobs says the American Bar Association has published model agreements for linking Web sites, but no one has ever asked him to write one. If you're concerned about people linking to your home page, create a "splash page" with only your company name and logo on it and require a visitor who wants to enter the site to give a name or password. Don't give someone permission to link to your site, and don't link to someone else's site, without checking out the entire site-regularly. If your visitors link to something offensive or inaccurate on another site, you may be held liable. Editor's note: When other sites link to you, your site traffic will naturally increase-generally a plus. While you want to be careful who you're linked to, try to avoid discouraging beneficial links.
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