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You work hard on your blog and the content that goes into it. How would you feel if someone stole your content and passed it off as their own? That’s what we call copyright infringement.
By definition, according to Wikipedia, copyright infringement is the use of works protected by copyright law without permission, infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, such as the right to reproduce, distribute, display or perform the protected work, or to make derivative works. The copyright holder is typically the work’s creator, or a publisher or other business to whom copyright has been assigned. Copyright holders routinely invoke legal and technological measures to prevent and penalize copyright infringement. (Copyright Infringement, Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, January 24, 2019, Retrieved January 28, 2019, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_infringement).
In simple terms, it’s theft.
Myths vs Facts
Copyright is a pretty complicated issue. I think many people misunderstand what’s allowed and don’t necessarily realize how to go about using photos and content from different sources for their own use, or maybe they just don’t care and take their chances because it’s easier than going through a lengthy process to get approval.
Here are some myths around copyright:
Internet Copyright Infringement by Visually
How to Copyright your blog
Did you know that as soon as your blog is published online, it is protected under Canadian copyright law if your content is original? This means that others must ask for your permission to use your work. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case.
Here are a few things you can do protect your blog content:
- Complete a copyright registration through Industry Canada. When you register your copyright, you get a certificate of registration that can be used in court and gives you leverage for collecting damages.
- Place a copyright notice at the bottom of each page of your blog. Include the word “Copyright” and/or the copyright symbol (©), the year of publication, your name and the phrase “All Rights Reserved.” You can place a copyright notice on your blog pages even if you have not yet filed for copyright registration.
- Develop a strategy to detect infringement. You may also want to invest in software that can detect theft if you have spent the time and money to register your copyright But, I guess this all depends on how serious you are about pursuing legal action if you detect a theft has occurred with your content.
- Have a system in place to allow others to ask for permission to use your content. You don’t want anyone to steal your blog content so why not make it easier for people to ask for permission to use it. Include a section on your website about how to go about this and include the details they need to provide in order to consider approval.
- You could also go as far as registering a Trade Mark for your blog. You can find more information about this here. (http://www.trademarkcanada.org/)
What’s your take?
I think these are all great strategies to protect your content. I’m not sure I’d go as far as ordering infringement detection software for a small personal blog but I can see this being very relevant for large blog owners or businesses. What do you think about these strategies? Do you have any other suggestions? What are strategies you would use to protect your content? I’d really like to know!
Bloggers! Don’t get caught by copyright infringement. Learn how to protect yourself. https://bit.ly/2CQ6gUs #copyrightinfringement
Are you a hard working blogger? Know how to protect your content. https://bit.ly/2CQ6gUs #copyrightinfringement
References:
Government of Canada, (2018, April 27), Retrieved from: http://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/cipointernet-internetopic.nsf/eng/h_wr00003.html
CARNES, D. , Retrieved from: https://info.legalzoom.com/copyright-website-canada-22586.htmRetrieved from: https://info.legalzoom.com/copyright-website-canada-22586.html
Algonquin College Social Media Certificate Program 