copyright protection

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   wayne barrettposted 11 years ago

   Looking for advise on how to get my work copyrighted. I have seen free sites but do not know how reliable they are. Or should I pay for the extra peace of mind?

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2. 59

   damian0000posted 11 years ago

   Hi Wayne, I am no expert on the subject of online copyrighting... truth be told I don't know anything about it, and I have noticed lot of hubbers on here have copyright protection at the end of their work.
   
   I would have thought that publishing on here would be fairly safe... everything is logged as to the dates on which you published and people make remarks about it too, they are also recorded.
   
   If there is something in particular you want to protect you could try the old-fashioned way... print it out, put it in an envelope and post it to yourself... obviously, leaving it unopened... the dated stamp from the post office is also proof of time of delivery.
   
   Sorry I can't be of more help....

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      DigiStampposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      There's an easier and cheaper digital method: trusted timestamps.
      It's the much like the postmark on an envelope but costs only $.40, takes seconds, maintains complete privacy, and all happens on your computer.
      
      You can distribute and publish your work alongside its timestamp.
      
      Check out one of the available tools here:
      http://supporttest.digistamp.com/create.jsp

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3. 59

   damian0000posted 11 years ago

   One other thing I do know is that writing websites now tend to have very effective anti-plagiarism programmes so anything that is written anywhere else on the net and copied is 99% certain to get picked up..

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4. 95

   wildernessposted 11 years ago

   Your work here is automatically copyrighted as soon as it is published.  Read up on the DMCA - wikipedia will do.
   
   Sending yourself mail is worthless - it will add nothing to the protection you already have.
   
   Likewise, putting a copyright notice in your hub might stop the casual plagiarist but won't give the professional thief any headache at all.
   
   Your material is most definitely not "safe" here or anywhere else.  Wherever it can be found, thieves can find, copy and re-publish it.  You can't stop that, but you CAN (usually) get it taken down by filing a DMCA complaint with the site owner or the hosting site.  I currently have 70 DMCA's filed on my own material that has been copied - right now there are several threads open about some thief that is scraping HP material wholesale.
   
   You can also file with Adsense (which I have done) in an effort to get the thief's adsense account closed - without income few thieves will find it worthwhile to steal.

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   1. 0

      Sarra Garrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Hey wilderness, even though our work here on HP is copywrited does it really make a difference to put a copywrite on the bottom of each article?  Just asking because of all the thefts going on.

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         wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         No.  It adds no protection and won't even a real thief pause - they already know it's copyrighted and don't care.
         
         It might stop the casual high school copier, but that's about it.
         
         I've seen ads from companies offering (for a fee) to protect your hubs, file notices and all and they can offer a little sign at the bottom.  That might help, about as much as putting a sign in your front yard that your home is protected by ADT - some help but guys like this Korean aren't going to care about that, either.

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            Sarra Garrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            That's what I thought. Thank you for your response wilderness.  Just like everything else I guess, it's all put out there to steal.  Bummer.

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               wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               It's a bummer, but it is what it is.  There are thieves everywhere - at the root it is as necessary to protect our hubs as it is to put a lock on our house.

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               1. 0

                  Sarra Garrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  I notice that billybuc puts a date and his name on the bottom of each of his hubs, does that make any kind of a difference???? Not to mention HP has a copywrite blurb that can be put on the bottom of each hub, it may deter some but not all.  As mentioned before there are reputable writing sites that do check their content for duplicates like they do here on HP which is  good thing.

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                  1. 95

                     wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                     Does a thief care when your hub was written?  I suppose he might choose more recent hubs in the hopes he can outrank them easier, but only if he's cherry picking.  Most don't; they just scrape anything in view.
                     
                     Dan Gordon didn't care what he got; it was just filler.  The current guy is scraping categories to fill his own categories with - he doesn't care what he gets either.
                     
                     Blurbs and such may make it easier to find duplicated content, but will provide no more protection from thieves.

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         2. 86

            ajwrites57posted 11 years agoin reply to this

            wilderness-I want to say thanks to you for your knowledgeable responses to Hubbers questions. I read through many forum threads or answers to questions and I invariably see you have posted something helpful and reliable. Also, you say that you don't know at times when you don't have the information thanks so much!

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               wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               TY

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                  ajwrites57posted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  You are more than welcome!

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5. 72

   wayne barrettposted 11 years ago

   I agree with you and have thought along the same lines, but it seems lately that I keep hearing others complaining about having their work stolen. I would like to try my hand at publishing some time in the future, and I cant help but worry about sending my work out without any protection.

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   1. 95

      wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      It IS protected, to the maximum extent provided for by law, but you have to be willing to enforce the law yourself.  No one else will do it for you.
      
      You could, for instance, go to the bookstore, buy a book and copy each page.  Put those copies in a binding and sell it.  No one can stop you from doing that, but they can certainly catch and punish you if you have done it already.  Same with hubs, although the punishment doesn't amount to much.

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      1. 72

         wayne barrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you, wilderness. If you did have to take legal action over ownership of a piece, would having it copyrighted help your case?

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            Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            No.

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            1. 72

               wayne barrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               So, what reason then, would there be to having your work copyrighted through a second party such as, Legal Zoom, Copyrighted.com, etc?

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                  wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  To earn them your money?
                  
                  I don't know those sites, but unless they are offering to protect your copyright (find copies, file DMCA's for you, etc.) there is no other reason to pay them anything.

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               2. 85

                  Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  Because they've seen a money-making opportunity.

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6. 82

   psycheskinnerposted 11 years ago

   The only advantage to copyright is if you register with the US copyright office, are in the US, and are suing for monetary damages (not just to make them stop).

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   1. 72

      wayne barrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you.

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   carterchasposted 11 years ago

   All that is neccessary for a copyright is the the copyright symbol, the year, and the person claiming the copyright.  I would also add "All Rights Reserved."
   I would have shown an example here, but hubpages automonitoring thinks it is an ad.  ha.
   
   No registering is required.  The Library of Congress does request that a print copy is sent of anything requested, but it is not required.
   
   Generally, registering is for Trademarks.  When you see (tm), that refers to a brand name.  When you see (r), it refers a brand name that has come to stand for the product itself.
   
   For example.  "Coke" (r), while a trademark, is a term often used to refer to sodas.  The Coca-Cola company goes to great lengths to protect it.  "Asperin" was originally a trademark but became so used by other brands that it lost its status as such.  Now, it just refers to a certain type of pain reliever.

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   1. 72

      wayne barrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Very good info. Thanks.

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