Do you embed a copyright statement into your HTML source code?

[Koto]

Do you usually put some kind of copyright statement into the source code of your webpages and scripts?
If so, what form does it take?

And do you put a visible copyright declaration at the bottom of your webpages?
Is it worth doing this?

[LiLcRaZyFuZzY]

well, if u write a wonderful program, id advice that u write a bit of comments, and its up to u if u wanna sign it or not. but if its a webpage, with plain html, i really dont see the point.
maybe if its a really new&modern design/program?

[rhsunderground]

i put a copyright notice on my page simply because i have original writings there. there really isn't a great need to copyright coding, but rather if you have content that's notably yours, add a copyright notice to that.

[Charles]

You can alse specify your rights using the Doublin Core. See http://dublincore.org/ .

[palmertires]

And do you put a visible copyright declaration at the bottom of your webpages?

By displaying the copyright notice at the bottom of your page, you are effectively notifying visitors to your site that the material is copyrighted and should identify the owner of the site. I imagine this notice covers the source code, as well as the design and any content on the site. Under US Copyright Law you do not need to place the notice for copyright to be effective, as it is considered active as soon as a work is fixed in tangible form, i.e. published to the web. If you want it to be clear that the code was written by you, a comment in the head of the document that identifies the author and date may be something you could do. I haven't seen this too often...(I am also not sure of what can and can't be copyrighted in terms of code)

[rsd]

According to the US Copyright Office (http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-protect.html#website) ...
"Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture."
and
"The original authorship appearing on a website may be protected by copyright. This includes writings, artwork, photographs, and other forms of authorship protected by copyright."

This means that any web design, code, or centent is automatically protected by US copyright laws.

Something most people are not aware of is that this also applies to email. For example, if I had sent this reply to you in the form of an email and you, in turn, forward it to someone else without my knowledge, you are violating copyright laws and that is a federal offense.

Scary stuff, eh?

[palmertires]

For example, if I had sent this reply to you in the form of an email and you, in turn, forward it to someone else without my knowledge, you are violating copyright laws and that is a federal offense.

But, if you read the Acceptable Use Policy, which had to be agreed to before signing up for this forum, it is noted that any postings to this forum become the legal property of this forum (these are also, essentially, public postings).

Copyright is not so scary as potentially confusing. And, it is an important mechanism to protect the livelihood of those who develop creative works. If you plan to continue to develop websites, some knowledge of copyright is useful (rely on a sound legal advice for more in-depth issues). This knowledge may also help in avoiding potential infringements that could leave you open to a sticky and possibly expensive lawsuit.

[rsd]

Originally posted by palmertires
But, if you read the Acceptable Use Policy, which had to be agreed to before signing up for this forum, it is noted that any postings to this forum become the legal property of this forum (these are also, essentially, public postings).
That's why I said "if I had sent this reply to you in the form of an email".
But it is good to point that out.

[Koto]

Many thanks for all the interesting replies.

My main reason for asking the question was just to find out if this is something that web developers usually do as a matter of course.
(I wouldn't want my webpages to lack a copyright declaration if it was an accepted convention that you should include one in your coding.)

I'm not in America myself, but I would imagine that similar laws about copyright ownership being automatic once a piece of work is made manifest apply in Europe too.

But I did wonder if copyright law could be applied to webpages in the same way as to other media - given the fact that whenever someone views your webpage their computer automatically makes a copy of the entire work anyway?

[Charles]

Originally posted by Koto
But I did wonder if copyright law could be applied to webpages in the same way as to other media - given the fact that whenever someone views your webpage their computer automatically makes a copy of the entire work anyway? I think browser caching would come under the Fair Use (http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/chapter9/index.html) exception. As would the bio-chemical imprint that you brain uses to remember the page.

[Charles]

Also, in the US copyright law is established by Congress. But Congress is limited by our Constitution to regulating matters of interstate commerce. As long as nobody is making money on the deal, you can copy away - but you should be ready to defend yourself in court, nonetheless. The copyright holder will try to argue that since they are losing money, even if you aren't making money comerce is still going on.

[palmertires]

Oops. I apologize for not thinking beyond my own borders. You may find the following website helpful.
http://www.wipo.int/copyright/ecommerce/en/index.html