In light of Covid-19’s stay at home orders and quarantines, many people are finding themselves at home much more than they were previously. This has led to people picking up new creative pursuits such as crafting, baking, or art. Maybe you’ve spent your time at home creating a blog. Whether you’re sharing your life experiences, family recipes, or are an aspiring film critic, you may now be wondering the best way to go about protecting your content. Can you copyright a blog post?
When you publish a creative work, such as a blog post, you automatically own the copyright. For a blogger, this means that as soon as you post your work to the internet, you have the copyright. If someone on the internet uses your content without your permission, you will be able to take legal action to protect your work, right? That’s where it gets a little more complicated. If you haven’t registered your copyright, you can’t sue for copyright infringement.
To further protect your blog, you may want to post a copyright notice in the footer of your webpage, letting others know that you intend to protect your property. This goes for written text, photographs that you take, and drawings and diagrams that you create. You may also want to include information on how others may use your work with your permission.
How Do You Register A Copyright?
If you want to register your copyright for your blog, you have a few options. Some may opt to register the copyright for specific posts that they wish to protect. You can also register your entire blog; however, this only protects the posts that are currently published to your website.If you do this, you may wish to regularly update your registration when you publish new blogs. If you wish to register, you can do so by contacting an attorney at Garcia-Zamor.
What about Fair Use?
You may be wondering what it means if someone claims that their use of your content falls under Fair Use. Fair Use typically refers to how the content is being utilized. If someone is sharing copies of your blog in a classroom, this would fall under sharing it for educational purposes. The flipside of this is if someone’s use of your content lowers the value of your content, such as if someone were to quote large passages from your blog in their own work. In all cases, it is best to consult Garcia-Zamor for a legal opinion prior to deciding if Fair Use is a valid defense for you or others.
What To Do Next?
Do you still have questions about the best legal protections for your situation? Has someone violated your copyright and do you need help pursuing litigation? Contact us at Garcia-Zamor today to get the help you need. We have decades of experience that we can put to work for you, letting you focus on creating new content!
