Copyright examples and explanation: Protect your website
You devote serious time and effort into creating content for your website, from long-form blog posts and educational resources, to original infographics and images or video. Making these assets available to the public helps you bring in business and build your brand, but it also puts you at risk of copyright infringement.
When you’re the victim of copyright infringement, you may be looking at costly legal battles, brand damage, and loss of valuable intellectual property (IP). Therefore, if your website contains original content, whether created by you or others, robust copyright protection is essential.
This article explores the nuances of copyright law, provides real-life examples of copyright disputes, and offers actionable insights for protecting your digital assets.
What is copyright law?
Copyright law provides legal protection for original works that are not in the public domain. The definition of works protected under copyright law ranges from paintings and photographs to computer programs and blog posts.
According to US copyright law, copyright protection exists automatically from the moment a work is created and fixed in a tangible form. This protection extends to both published and unpublished works, providing creators with exclusive rights to their creations.
Note that each country regulates the reproduction of original works with its own regulations, for example:
- US Copyright Law: Protects original, fixed works and copyright owners from unauthorized use of their intellectual property
- UK Copyright Protection: Prevents people from copying work that doesn’t belong to them and creating unauthorized adaptations of that work, among other protections
- Australian Copyright Regulations: Defines copyright as intangible and as protecting “the original forms or way an idea or information is expressed, not the idea or information itself”
While each country maintains its own copyright laws, most follow similar principles due to international treaties like the Berne Convention. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), this treaty “provides creators such as authors, musicians, poets, painters, etc. with the means to control how their works are used, by whom, and on what terms.” Essentially, the treaty extends the scope of copyright protection beyond the country where a work originated.
What’s the purpose of a copyright notice?
A copyright disclaimer serves multiple purposes in protecting your original content. While not legally required in many countries or under the Berne Convention, displaying a copyright disclaimer offers several significant advantages.
From a legal perspective, it prevents “innocent infringement” claims by clearly identifying the copyright owner, which can make it easier to obtain statutory damages in legal proceedings.
The practical benefits of displaying a copyright notice extend beyond legal protection, as this also simplifies licensing inquiries. Additionally, a proper notice demonstrates professional credibility and helps protect your content in countries where these notices may still be required.
Note that if you choose to use any copyrighted content on your website, say for educational purposes, then you should also publish a fair use disclaimer that outlines why your use of the work is permissible. However, it’s important to note that while such a disclaimer communicates your intent, it is not a guarantee against claims of copyright infringement.
Say your organization is an NGO focused on environmental advocacy. You’ll need a copyright notice to protect any original content you publish on your website, as well as a fair use disclaimer should you intend to share findings from any external research or academic studies.
Copyright examples
Copyright law protects a diverse range of creative works. The following categories can help you identify and protect your intellectual property.
- Original literary and artistic works form a fundamental category of protected content. This includes novels, short stories, poetry, song lyrics, paintings, illustrations, comics, graphic novels, blog posts, articles, and academic papers.
- Non-literary written work receives significant protection in the digital realm. This encompasses software code and applications, website content, video games, design elements, and databases. Technical documentation, user interfaces, navigation systems, and API documentation also fall within this category of protected work.
- The music industry relies heavily on copyright protection for both compositions and recordings. This includes not only traditional musical compositions and arrangements but also sound recordings, podcast episodes, audio content, sound effects, production music, voice-over recordings, and live performance recordings.
- Audiovisual works represent another major category of protected content. This includes films, television shows, online video content, animations, motion graphics, live streams, webcasts, and video game content. The protection extends to both the visual elements and the accompanying audio components.
- Architectural works receive specific copyright protection that covers building designs, blueprints, and 3D architectural models. This protection extends to landscape designs, interior design layouts, construction documentation, and technical drawings. The unique creative elements of architectural works are protected while allowing for functional elements to be reproduced.
- Choreographic works round out the major categories of copyright protection. Original dance routines, stage performance choreography, music video choreography, ice skating routines, gymnastic floor exercises, and performance art sequences all qualify for protection when fixed in a tangible medium, such as video recording or written notation.
Examples of copyright infringement
The following examples of copyright lawsuits show how intellectual property rights have evolved along with the digital world.
This dynamic has included a significant shift in recent years with the rise of platforms that enable users to share their own content, such as social media networks. While safeguards are sought for creators who share their original work across social media platforms, blogs, and websites, these platforms must also have processes in place should users unlawfully publish copyrighted content that is not their own.
Apple v. Microsoft
In 1988, Apple initiated a landmark lawsuit against Microsoft that would help define the boundaries of software copyright protection. The case centered on Apple’s claim that the Microsoft Windows graphical user interface (GUI) infringed upon Apple’s copyrighted interface designs. This case raised fundamental questions about whether the “look and feel” of a computer’s operating system could be protected by copyright law.
The case’s complexity stemmed from the challenge of determining which elements of a user interface deserved copyright protection. The court’s examination of specific interface elements and their relationship to functionality helped establish important precedents for software copyright protection.
While the court ultimately ruled that many of Apple’s claims were covered by an existing license agreement, the case significantly influenced how courts would approach software copyright issues in the decades to follow.
Metallica v. Napster
The year 2000 saw a pivotal moment in digital copyright history when Metallica filed suit against Napster. The band’s lawsuit alleged that Napster’s peer-to-peer file-sharing service facilitated massive copyright infringement by allowing users to share music files without permission from or compensation for the artists.
The case highlighted the growing tension between traditional copyright protection and emerging digital technologies. Metallica’s stance represented established artists and the recording industry, while Napster embodied the new frontier of digital music sharing.
The resulting legal battle led to significant changes in how digital music is distributed and consumed and contributed to the more regulated digital music platforms that now dominate the industry.
Viacom v. YouTube
Viacom’s 2007 lawsuit against YouTube for USD 1 billion marks another watershed moment in digital copyright law. This case tackled the complex issues surrounding social media and content platforms and their responsibilities regarding copyrighted material.
The case’s resolution helped establish modern content moderation practices and copyright enforcement systems, and YouTube developed its Content ID scanning system as a direct response to this lawsuit. The case clarified platform responsibilities while maintaining protections for legitimate fair use, and these precedents continue to influence how digital platforms handle copyright issues today.
What copyright laws mean for you as a website owner
Copyright laws confer both rights and responsibilities. Although website owners are protected, with rights to take legal action against infringers, they must also respect the IP of other authors and creators.
Protect your own content
As a website owner, you should take a proactive approach to protecting your original content.
At a minimum, you should display a proper copyright disclaimer, implement technical measures to protect content, and establish clear terms of use that outline how visitors may use your site content.
Technical protection measures also play an essential role in content security.
Monitoring and enforcing copyright protection requires consistent attention, and establishing systems for identifying and documenting infringement helps maintain the value of your IP. If infringement does occur, having clear enforcement procedures helps ensure a timely and effective response.
Consider the potential implications of AI and LLMs
The rise of generative AI technology adds a new layer of risk to original content published on digital platforms.
In an open letter to OpenAI and other AI companies, The Author’s Guild asserted that AI threatens to damage their profession and that large language models (LLMs) have “engaged in a systematic course of mass-scale copyright infringement that violates the rights of all working fiction writers and their copyright holders.”
With this in mind, you can take actions to deter LLMs from using your content to train their outputs. For example, you can employ tools that block AI scrapers and crawlers or add AI tools as disallowed agents to your robots.txt file.
Avoid committing copyright infringement
When creating content, understanding and properly applying fair use principles helps balance your content creation needs with copyright compliance. Your internal content creation guidelines should establish clear standards for verifying originality and acceptable uses (e.g. via Creative Commons license), and documenting sources.
When using third-party content, ensure proper license documentation and adherence to usage terms. Keep clear records of licenses and permissions for any third-party content used on your site, including images, music, videos, and text. To stay on top of your content compliance, implement processes that verify content ownership, maintain documentation of licenses, and respond promptly to any takedown notices.
For platforms that publish content generated by users, you must have systems in place to handle copyright claims and maintain safe harbor protections through proper notice and takedown procedures.
Protect your website and its content
Understanding and respecting copyright laws forms an essential part of website compliance efforts. You should regularly examine both your own content protection and your use of third-party materials.
Keep copyright notices current and accurate and ensure they reflect any changes in content or IP ownership. Develop usage policies that clearly communicate terms while protecting your intellectual property rights.
Effective copyright protection requires ongoing vigilance, and as digital technologies evolve, new challenges in content protection continue to emerge. However, copyright laws aren’t the only compliance issue you need to have in mind when maintaining your website or other online properties.
Complying with data privacy regulations is essential for any business that has a website, app, or other digital presence and wants to uphold customer trust and avoid fines and penalties. Working with compliance experts like Usercentrics helps ensure your website maintains current best practices in data protection, while adapting to changing legal requirements.