The whole purpose of a website is to reach and inform a large number of people. The graphical layout, the visual, written or musical content are all exposed to a huge number of viewers/users. All content should be protected from the risks of copying.

Although many countries have national registration systems for copyright, a website is intrinsically international so it is important to obtain legal recognition in the purest and most respected sense. This will allow the copyright owner to confirm and prove ownership in a court of law.

Due to the complexity of a website, it will probably be necessary to treat each component separately and this may mean adopting different legal techniques of protection.

Visual content might include the actual shape and graphical arrangement of the pages themselves. The various images embedded in the pages. Any video clips which may be linked or embedded. Here it will be important to define if someone else owns the copyright to certain items used in your website. You may require an assignment of copyright to authorise you to use their work. In recent times, another problematic situation has arisen with regards to any internet based content. There are more and more bogus copyright claims were unscrupulous individuals are falsely claiming copyright for other people’s work, just to receive some sort of financial compensation. This is quite an unnerving and frustrating situation where the only way an author or creator of content can argue their case is if they enforce copyright with solid proof.

It is possible to call upon the services of a “Notary Public” for a legal and official confirmation of the ownership of copyright and confirmation of the date on which any original work was created. The important point to bear in mind here is that notaries have the legal capacity to authorise a document and certify its legitimacy, allowing it to be officially recognised in another country. This is probably the most straightforward way of proceeding when you require protection for your work.

In situations where illegal reproduction of the work, or parts thereof, has taken place it’s not always easy for an author/webmaster to engage legal proceedings against a particular individual or company without proof of copyright. The author/webmaster must act quickly to prove ownership of copyright and then allow a legal advisor or individual solicitor to communicate this information in turn to other legal representatives, perhaps in other countries. Having a legal confirmation of copyright will facilitate any legal procedures. If the copyright for the work has already been legally confirmed by a notary public from the outset, then the ensuing procedures will be more straightforward.You can register your website by clicking here