Make sure you own the copyright to your content
Website design By BotEap.comYou’ve been a prolific writer for your business for a long time, and of course, like all other writers, you use sources to support the facts you write in your content. Of course, there is no reason for him to assume anything other than the fact that he owns the copyright to all the content he is writing.
Website design By BotEap.comSometimes the line is obscured
Website design By BotEap.comIf you own the copyright to specific content (including graphics, videos, etc.), that means you can do whatever you want with that content. After all, it belongs to you. On the other hand, if someone else owns the copyright to the content, you are severely limited from doing whatever you want with that content. That means you can’t recycle the content and use it over and over again, you can allow other people to post the content on their websites (for more exposure and a wider reach), and you can’t touch the images (by making them smaller, more larger, wider, narrower). Your hands are tied in that case. However, you may not always understand when it is appropriate (legally and ethically) to alter content in any way and when you really need to stay out of it.
Website design By BotEap.comYou probably have an accurate idea that you can’t just find a graphic image online, copy it, and embed it into your content. That’s just common sense. If you use any of someone else’s content (words), you’ll probably realize that you should give the author credit for what he or she has written. However, copyright goes much further. It is extremely important that you understand the basics of copyright and how it applies to you and your business. If you don’t pay attention to what you are and are not allowed to do, you can get yourself into trouble (legally and financially speaking). There are some concepts that will benefit you if you at least have a working knowledge of them. Hopefully they won’t actually apply to you at all, but being aware is very important to you.
- Have a license agreement, including an invoice: That is an invoice from the person who owns the copyright. If you plan to use someone else’s copyrighted material, you’ll probably have to pay that person (or entity) some money. There may be rare occasions when the person or entity will not charge you money, but you need to have a written agreement between you to stay out of trouble. Website design By BotEap.com
- Copyright Infringement Lawsuit: This is a lawsuit that occurs in federal court. The person or entity filing the complaint is the copyright owner. The lawsuit will make demands, such as that you remove all copyrighted material from anywhere you have posted online. You will also (most likely) be expected to pay a certain amount of money (damages) and there is also the possibility that you will be asked to pay attorneys’ fees. Website design By BotEap.com
- Notice of cease and desist: This is a communication (usually in the form of a letter) from the person who owns the copyright telling you to remove your content from wherever you posted it. Website design By BotEap.com
- Digital Millennium Copyright Act Takedown Notice: This is a notice referring to the act on behalf of the copyright owner. It is sent to your web hosting service. It will insist that your web host disable any access to anywhere the copyrighted content appears.