[NjDank]

Hello,

On my sites I produce original content. How does the copyright process work. Is it a one and done or is this something I'd have to pay for, for each article/video/picture?


If one and done and not per-new content piece, is there an annual fee?


What is the avg cost for that? Is this something that I need a lawyer for, when there are sites that do this?

While I'm here, whats the avg. cost for trademarking two logos?

[PaulS]

To start, you should include a copyright notice on your site (a blanket one in the footer is pretty common and will usually do the trick). The actual process of stating that your work is copyright protected is fairly easy, and usually (I'm not a lawyer, so I can't go into the exceptions) is automatic once a work of "substantial originality" is published.

Where the complicated aspects come in is trying to claim your copyright ownership should you notice external duplication.... there are bunch of factors that come into play at that point that might require a lawyer's assistance.

However, to "note" the copyright status of your work shouldn't need a lawyer... and there are no fees.

Officially trademarking does usually require a legal service, but there are a few online services that help with trademarks and business registration that you can look into to help with that.

One note, if you include the TM symbol beside your logo, it is an indication of your intention to trademark that logo, and you can do so without legally filing the logo. Once you've completed the trademark process, that is usually replaced with the little r (in a circle) that means "registered" trademark.

I hope that helps.

Please note, that I am not a lawyer and all of the above is simply my personal opinion based on my experience in this area. I'm noting this just in case I'm wrong.

Paul

[Convergence]

Originally Posted by www.copyright.gov

Under U. S. law, copyright protection subsists from the time the work is fixed in any tangible medium of expression from which it can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.

Source: copyright.gov

[Attorney Jaffe]

WHAT IS A COPYRIGHT?
A copyright is the exclusive property right granted to the author or creator of original works including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works.

HOW ARE COPYRIGHT RIGHTS ACQUIRED?
The way in which copyright protection is secured is frequently misunderstood. Copyright is Secured Automatically upon Creation.
No publication or registration or other action in the Copyright Office is required to secure copyright. There are, however, certain definite advantages to registration.

Copyright is secured automatically when the work is created, and a work is “created” when it is fixed in a copy for the first time. “Copies” are material objects from which a work can be read or visually perceived either directly or with the aid of a machine or device, such as books, manuscripts, sheet music, film, videotape, or microfilm.

WHAT WORKS ARE PROTECTED?
Copyright protects “original works of authorship” that are fixed in a tangible form of expression. The fixation need not be directly perceptible so long as it may be communicated with the aid of a machine or device. Copyrightable works include the following categories: literary works, musical works, including any accompanying words, dramatic works, including any accompanying music, pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works, motion pictures and other audiovisual works, sound recordings, architectural works. These categories should be viewed broadly. For example, computer programs and most “compilations” may be registered as “literary works”; maps and architectural plans may be registered as “pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works.”

WHAT IS NOT PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT?
Several categories of material are generally not eligible for federal copyright protection. These include among others:
1. Works that have not been fixed in a tangible form of expression (for example, choreographic works that have not been notated or recorded, or improvisational speeches or performances that have not been written or recorded.)
2. Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols or designs; mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents.
3. Ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices, as distinguished from a description, explanation, or illustration.
4. Works consisting entirely of information that is common property and containing no original authorship (for example: standard calendars, height and weight charts, tape measures and rulers, and lists or tables taken from public documents or other common sources).

NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT
The use of a copyright notice is no longer required under U. S. law, although it is often beneficial. Use of the notice may be important because it informs the public that the work is protected by copyright, identifies the copyright owner, and shows the year of first publication. Furthermore, in the event that a work is infringed, if a proper notice of copyright appears on the published copy to which a defendant in a copyright infringement suit had access, then no weight shall be given to such a defendant’s interposition of a defense based on innocent infringement. Innocent infringement occurs when the infringer did not realize that the work was protected.

The use of the copyright notice is the responsibility of the copyright owner and does not require advance permission from, or registration with, the Copyright Office. The notice should contain all three of the following elements:
1. The symbol © (the letter C in a circle), or the word “Copyright,”
2. The year of first publication of the work.
3. The name of the owner of copyright in the work. Example: © 2008 John Doe