"Copyright," as defined by the U.S. Copyright Office, provides legal protections to "the authors of 'original works of authorship,' including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic and certain other 'intellectual works.'" It gives the creators of such works - which include Web site designs and Web site content - the exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute and display those works. So what is protected by copyright and what isn't?
Here are several web site hosting industry examples to illustrate how copyright does - or doesn't - apply: Situation one You design a new hosting company Web site and, before you go live, a former employee starts a rival business with a nearly identical Web site using the same layout, logo and content.
Copyright protects original works whether they're published or not, whether you use the copyright symbol or not, whether you register your work with the U.S. Copyright Office or not. So the fact that your rival put up his site before you did means nothing: you own the copyright to your original site design and content. Situation two You launch a new hosting division focused exclusively on Web sites for work-at-home moms.
Two days after you launch, someone else rolls out a service for the exact same audience. Sorry, but your competitor is on solid legal ground: ideas can't be copyrighted. Nor can names, titles or phrases, so even if your new rival names his company something similar to yours, you're out of luck.
Situation three A competing host is using, word for word, your own descriptions of shared and dedicated hosting. You're protected: your original descriptions of more than a few words can't be used by others without your permission. What if you do encounter a blatant violation of your copyright?
This is where things become a little more difficult, because there are no copyright police you can call to have the offender ticketed or arrested. Your best bet is often to contact the offender directly, inform him in a calm and professional manner of the copyright violation, and ask him to correct the situation.
If that doesn't work, taking your complaint public to hosting forums might shame your competitor into making the changes. Taking an infringement suit to court requires you to first register your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office (if you're in the U.S.).
If you registered before the infringement occurs, you might be able to collect both statutory damages and attorney's fees. Otherwise, you'll only be eligible - assuming victory - for actual damages and profits. Copyright is a valuable right that's often misunderstood and even more frequently abused.
A Web host should clearly understand the rights of both him/herself and others to maintain a professional and trustworthy reputation. web host review
