Page 1 of 1

Legal Issues

Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 3:59 am
by s.dot
Well 'tis a defining moment in my career as a programmer. :lol:

I've been threatened a couple times by a couple users to be taken to court [mind you because they're simply mad at other users, not my fault].

Anyhoots, it got me thinking about legal issues.

I want a real copyright. For years now I've simply put copright mydomain.com - all rights reserved. Well yeah, I'd like to make that legal. How do I go about getting a real copyright? Do I need to register as a business or LLC? I am the only person involved in my websites.. can those get business or LLC?

What about user agreements, privacy policies, etc? Hire an attorney? What KIND of attorney?

-- Hopelessly lost and looking for direction :lol:
-- Scott

Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 7:50 am
by Buddha443556
I've been threatened a couple times by a couple users to be taken to court [mind you because they're simply mad at other users, not my fault].
Been there ... but it wasn't my site it was a customers site over the phone and beyond just legal threats.

It's hard to find a good "computer law" attorney. Usually just to sit down with a lawyer it's going to cost you something. So, ask around first.

You can start with the ABA:
ABA Online Lawyer Referral Directory
Indiana: ABA Online Lawyer Referral Directory

EDIT: Fixed Indiana link.

Re: Legal Issues

Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 9:52 am
by Roja
scrotaye wrote:I've been threatened a couple times by a couple users to be taken to court [mind you because they're simply mad at other users, not my fault].
You aren't giving us enough information to work from. What are their claims? What is the basis for their complaint?
scrotaye wrote:I want a real copyright. For years now I've simply put copright mydomain.com - all rights reserved. Well yeah, I'd like to make that legal. How do I go about getting a real copyright?
You already have one. Under US law, the act of publishing (and yes, putting a website up has been consistently held to be so for several years now) achieves full copyright status. Its real, its legal, and it is copyrighted, period.
scrotaye wrote:Do I need to register as a business or LLC? I am the only person involved in my websites.. can those get business or LLC?
However, you can go beyond that legal status. You can register your works with the copyright office. In a case where there is a dispute over who created a work first, registering with the copyright office can give you an advantage. Its a third-party (the US Copyright office) with legal standing, and the ability to certify that your works were received before anyone elses.

However, a competitor can still claim that they came up with the idea first. It is extremely rare to find a case in which registering your materials will give you an advantage - on copyright claims.

Registering a business is an entirely different issue. Making a business allows you to reduce risk by shifting the risk to the business. However, to do that, you have to be able to show that the business is truly a standalone entity - complete with its own bank account, clear paperwork, etc.
scrotaye wrote:What about user agreements, privacy policies, etc? Hire an attorney? What KIND of attorney?

-- Hopelessly lost and looking for direction :lol:
-- Scott
We *really* need more detail to give any kind of advice here. At the least, the list of their complaints.

Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 10:02 am
by jayshields
I heard that all you have to do is type copyright website.com on a piece of paper, print it, put it in an envelope, post it to yourself, when it arrives, dont open it, just keep it. the post office should stamp the date on the exterior.

I don't know how true that is though :)

Re: Legal Issues

Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 10:11 am
by Buddha443556
Roja wrote:
scrotaye wrote:What about user agreements, privacy policies, etc? Hire an attorney? What KIND of attorney?

-- Hopelessly lost and looking for direction :lol:
-- Scott
We *really* need more detail to give any kind of advice here. At the least, the list of their complaints.
Usually that ABA referral service has a number you can call and talk to a human. They maybe able to help you figure out what kind of lawyer(s) you need. Personally, I wouldn't discuss my legal problems with anyone but my lawyer. "You have the right to remain silent" and that is usually a damn good idea.

Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 10:17 am
by Roja
jayshields wrote:I heard that all you have to do is type copyright website.com on a piece of paper, print it, put it in an envelope, post it to yourself, when it arrives, dont open it, just keep it. the post office should stamp the date on the exterior.

I don't know how true that is though :)
Thats not for establishing copyright - thats for establishing the date of first publish, which is generally applicable only in patent or trademark claims.

Re: Legal Issues

Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 10:19 am
by Roja
Buddha443556 wrote:Personally, I wouldn't discuss my legal problems with anyone but my lawyer. "You have the right to remain silent" and that is usually a damn good idea.
Its true that any discussions you have can (and probably will) be used in court.

However, I didn't ask for his side of it - I asked for the claims the opponents are making. Those shouldnt have an influence on the case, as long as he states them accurately.

Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 6:10 pm
by s.dot
The legal issues I speak of had nothing to do with the users claims [[they were ridiculous, im not worried about them]]

But say, somewhere down the line, someone markets a product using my name or website name and starts making profit from it. Wouldn't I need a copyright to stop that?

Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 6:28 pm
by Roja
scrotaye wrote:The legal issues I speak of had nothing to do with the users claims [[they were ridiculous, im not worried about them]]

But say, somewhere down the line, someone markets a product using my name or website name and starts making profit from it. Wouldn't I need a copyright to stop that?
Name = Trademark. Copyright is for (and this isnt the legal definition) collections of text. If you want to protect a name or a logo, thats a trademark.

Trademarks work entirely different from copyright, and you do have to formally apply for a trademark, and pay to do so.

There is a trademark search online, but you will also need to manually research whether the trademark is in wide use. If it is, you might still be able to win the claim, but its somewhat doubtful.

Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 8:47 am
by Maugrim_The_Reaper
Generally a good idea to claim copyright as a legal entity. Not sure where Copyright (c) mysite.com 2006 stands. Is mysite.com a legal entity? Don't think so. Maybe the US has some screwy validation of this however...;) It's generally accepted to copyright using your personal name or some other known alias. Whether a website name is a valid alias - not so sure.

Names for legal purposes should be trademarked. May also be possible to register as a Business Name (trademark with this is optional but it establishes a name for business use). This may be available under your local company law.
Thats not for establishing copyright - thats for establishing the date of first publish, which is generally applicable only in patent or trademark claims.
Having a copy of work sent by registered mail is generally useable in Irish and UK courts to establish a general copyright date. The presumption being an author would have some form of planning notes or drafts sent to themselves separately as a date guarantor. I know authors who send themselves all sorts of stuff and keep a box full of self-addressed registered mail. Other's ship reference copies to their Solicitors for storage. Planning notes and concept drafts are more popular than completed works. Not really a source code practice though...