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How to copyright my PHP website?

Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 7:29 pm
by emmbec
Hi all, I am trying to copyright my websitw, the problem is, I don't know what "Code"to send, do I send them ALL my PHP scripts? Or do I send them only the HTML generated pages? Do I send it in a zip file? Do I print the code and send the code in a text file?

Please help! :cry:

Thanks!

Re: How to copyright my PHP website?

Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 8:03 pm
by jackpf
I don't understand your question.

How are you supposedly copyrighting your scripts??

Re: How to copyright my PHP website?

Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 8:09 pm
by emmbec
Well, not really the scripts, that is my question actually. I developed a website in PHP using Smarty. I want to add the legend COPYRIGHT 2009 at the bottom of the page, so how can I copyright that website? I checked in the US Copyright website that you can do it online, but I don't know what to submit for the copyright...

Re: How to copyright my PHP website?

Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 8:19 pm
by jackpf
You mean something like this: http://www.keytlaw.com/Copyrights/Register.htm

Try googling "how to copyright a website".

Re: How to copyright my PHP website?

Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2009 1:37 am
by matthijs
You don't have to do anything to have the copyright on something you create. The moment you created it (and assuming it's something unique), you already own the copyright.

However, you probably mean that you want to register somehow some evidence that you created it in the first place? In the page jackpf linked to, at the bottom is a reference to registering computer programs. I'd follow that and see what info that gives. An excellent site on anything related to plagiarism, copyright, etc is plagiarismtoday.com

Re: How to copyright my PHP website?

Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2009 3:32 pm
by josh
matthijs wrote:You don't have to do anything to have the copyright on something you create. The moment you created it (and assuming it's something unique), you already own the copyright.
" copyright protection exists the moment an original work of authorship becomes fixed. For example, the song in the previous example is protected by copyright at the moment it is written to paper, or recorded on a cassette tape. A computer program is protected the exact moment that it is saved to disk."

I got confused with an older law... "Before 1978, statutory copyright was generally secured by the act of publishing a work with a notice of copyright on the work. If a work remained unpublished, statutory copyright could be secured by the act of registration. If a work was published without a copyright notice, the work could enter the public domain and would not have copyright protection. Any work that was in the public domain on January 1, 1978 remained in the public domain."

Lots of info here http://www.bitlaw.com/copyright/obtaining.html
You can register your works here http://www.copyright.gov/register/