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

-- Scott
We *really* need more detail to give any kind of advice here. At the least, the list of their complaints.