Can I Copyright a Website?

If you are an individual or business owner who has a website, you most likely want to protect the content that goes on your website. For this reason, you may wonder whether you can copyright your website to safeguard it from infringement. Please continue reading and reach out to Lemler IP for a seasoned New Orleans, Louisiana copyright lawyer to learn more about whether websites are copyrightable and how Lemler IP can help protect your original work. Here are some of the questions you may have:

Am I allowed to copyright a website in the U.S.?

In short, the answer is “no,” the U.S. Copyright Act does not explicitly recognize websites as copyrightable material. However, you should note that this doesn’t mean you can’t copyright content you add to your website, or that there’s no path to potentially even copyrighting your website as a whole.

For example, if you can prove that your website meets the standard for a compilation or collective work, you may actually be able to copyright your website. Further, you absolutely can copyright original written content, photographs, or any other original content featured on your website, which will, essentially, serve the same purpose as copyrighting your website.

What is the standard for a “compilation or collective work?”

To meet the legal standard for what is considered a compilation or collective work in the context of copyright law, you will need to prove that there is a sufficient body of “creative expression” in the collection or arrangement of the content featured on your website. You should also note that to register a compilation or collective work, you must be the sole owner of both the compilation and the underlying works at the time of registration. This standard is, in some ways, subjective, so it’s important you submit enough supporting documentation that can work to prove the content featured on your website is, in fact, a compilation or collective work.

That said, as previously mentioned, if your website likely won’t reach this standard, it doesn’t mean you can’t copyright and protect your work; it only means you’ll need to do so separately. A seasoned intellectual property lawyer can help ensure your body of work gets the legal protection it deserves.

What happens once I copyright my original material?

Whether you copyrighted a compilation or collective work (i.e. your entire website) or you copyrighted individual webpages or the content therein, you will be afforded several protections. Once your work is copyrighted (whatever that work may be) you will have exclusive rights to own, reproduce, sell, create derivatives of, distribute, and display it.

If you have further questions about copyrighting your original work, contact Lemler IP for help.