Do you know about legal concerns and websites?

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   Browneesorchidsposted 13 years ago

   I am very new to all that comes with publishing a website with a copyright, and trademark/service mark registration. Does anyone have any suggestions or knowledge pertaining to this issue? I am building a site that targets females of various ages and have chosen to use iPage for my website host.
   
   Thank you in advance:)

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2. 64

   Nouveau Skepticposted 13 years ago

   I am not sure what you are asking.  You can register copyright of material but it is not free and not necessary unless you are 1) in the US and 2) may wish to sue for monetary damages (not just get them to stop).
   
   Trademarks are a much more complex issues and hard to discuss without specific examples.

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      Browneesorchidsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I am looking to establish my website with a copyright(for website) and trademark (for design/name). I'm not sure what all is needed to be a strong website that wants to become a legal business in the future. I am aware of obtaining a copyright but not sure of anyone's personal experience.

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3. 64

   Nouveau Skepticposted 13 years ago

   You work is copyrighted upon creation, and posting a copyright symbol is not necessary to assert/defend the copyright.  You can register the copyright at about $45 per item, but as I mentioned it is seldom necessary.
   
   To register a trademark you need to fill out the application and make sure to include the exact material being registered.  But honestly, I would question the need to do this too.  What can be defended under trademark is quite narrow and for many small businesses the chances of serious infringements requiring a lawsuit are pretty low.

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      Browneesorchidsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for your feedback.

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4. 0

   Website Examinerposted 13 years ago

   You can obtain free copyright registration (digital watermark) from myfreecopyright.com. This is not official registration, but it creates proof of possession.

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      Browneesorchidsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for the extra information

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         Nouveau Skepticposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Keep in mind that only registration has standing in a US court.

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            Website Examinerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Correct. The contents of a website may keep changing; therefore keeping registration current may be costly. Registration could wait until the time of preparing a lawsuit. But the webmasters that file suit are probably relatively few, due to a cost-benefit analysis.
            
            Copyright may even be a minor concern compared with the brand, logo etc. If the site looks like it might become valuable, it would be a good idea to look into trademark protection or the like, and there are firms specializing in that.

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         Website Examinerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         You are welcome.

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