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"I.T. Web Experts has
elevated our organization’s web site
to a higher level! Our members now have
a Website they can really use. They are
able to find the information they need,
faster and easier. We are pleased with their
professional service at a reasonable
price." |
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Debbie
Wheeler
President, Human Resources Association of
the Central Coast
www.hracc.net |
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Web
Site Copyright and Trademark Issues |
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Many people often wonder what the laws
are for trademark and copyright issues
on the Internet. Here is a guide to help you make decisions regarding this, as well as if you want music to use, music to use and how to license it.
What should I do to protect the content of my web site?
First of all, there is no perfect method
to protect the content of your web site.
Here are a few things that you can do:
1. Make sure that you display a copyright
symbol (html code © for copyright,
® for trademark) on your web site
with a date and "all rights reserved" so
that people know you don't want them to
copy without permission your web site content.
2.
You may register your web site as a literary
or visual arts work with the government
copyright office. The fee is approximately
$30 and you will need to mail them a cd
of your web site. Please visit www.copyright.gov/circs/circ66.html
for more information.
3. Wondering if other web sites have already
copied your material? A great place to research
and see if they have is
www.copyscape.com.
4. If somebody has copied your web site
content, you will want to send them a cease
and desist letter preferably from your lawyer.
You
can also use technology to your benefit
in protecting your web site content. For
example:
1. Password protect directories of your
web site.
2. Disable printing of your web page or
easy copy and paste duplicating of your
web site with JavaScript
3. Distribute your secure content via Adobe
Acrobat PDFs that use secure signatures.
Is
it ok to use another company's logo on my
web site?
It is best if you first ask permission from
the company first. Try using a friendly
letter that tells them briefly about your
company, how you will be using their logo,
and your web site.
Where
can I license music to use on my web site?
There are a lot of issues with licensing
music for web sites. Basically music falls
into two categories: royalty free music
that can be purchased on line to use on
your web site, and "popular" music like
you might purchase at a music store and
listen to on cd. For the latter of the two,
you will need to buy digital licensing from
the proper music agency, such as: http://www.harryfox.com/public/licenseeServicesDigital.jsp
or http://www.bmi.com/licensing/webcaster/.
First you will need to search through there
database to see if the song you want to
license is owned by them (or you can look
at the cd if you have it and see what recording
/distribution company was used and contact
them for more information)
There
are a myriad of places to buy royalty free
music on the Internet, such as:
www.sounddogs.com,
www.freeplaymusic.com,
www.musicbakery.com,
or www.soundrangers.com.
You can find more by typing "royalty free
music" into a search engine. Here you will
find a quick one-stop shop of music that
isn't what you would hear on the radio,
but may provide an acceptable solution.
A good review guide for some other online
music libraries can be found here: http://www.dplay.com/tutorial/libcards.html. Free music can be found here: http://www.flashkit.com/loops/
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