Right on the Internet. Compliance, protection and infringement of copyright in the Internet

The main function of the Internet was initially free access to information of various kinds. However, over time, there is a need to protect texts, photos, drawings or other material sponsored by the user of the World Wide Web. Today, copyright on the Internet and ways to protect them are one of the most pressing issues.

Objects and subjects of law in the Internet

The law on the Internet is a rather complicated and confusing area, which consists of different multilevel elements. The main objects and subjects of law on the World Wide Web include the following:

• Rights to the software.
• The rights of owners of web pages on the content of the site, its programs, as well as articles, music and images.
• The rights of providers to programs and databases.
• Copyright in the Internet of specific persons who created and placed on online resources texts, programs, music, videos, pictures or other material that other users actively use.

Unlike traditional forms of submitting information by the author, the placement of materials on the Internet has its own characteristics. The fact is that as soon as the article or music becomes available in digital format, it can be viewed by an unlimited number of users around the world. It is simply physically impossible to follow all the processes in this situation. Almost any person can take from the general access a development or idea, register for it the rights and actually become the owner of those materials, whose author is a completely different person. To avoid this situation, you should protect your rights on the Internet. You can do this in many ways.

Setting the copyright symbol ©

This option is the easiest and most accessible to any user. To install this sign, you do not need to undergo additional registration or perform any other actions. Once a user uploads a photo, article or other material to the World Wide Web that he himself made, he automatically becomes its author and has the right to establish a copyright sign on any product of his creativity. Next to the icon you can put your name and year of publication. This symbol and the right to use it was established in the middle of the last century at the World Geneva Conference, dedicated to the problem of copyright. To get this symbol using a computer, you need to hold down the Alt key and type the following combination of numbers - 0169 on the digital part of the keyboard on the right.

The copyright symbol has the following advantages.

• Officially gives everyone to understand that this text or photo has an author.
• It gives an opportunity to declare their exclusive rights to the placed object.
• Provides the opportunity for the author to establish rules regarding the commercial or non-commercial use of his creation.

In this method, however, there is a significant disadvantage. The copyright symbol protects the author's creation, but does not protect the idea, structure, concept, principle or other similar components of creativity. That is, if the author has posted the original drawing, the picture itself will be protected with a copyright icon, but some innovation that is present in the work can be taken as a basis by other people. Accordingly, the author's original idea can be used by other users. This icon should always be present on the author's works, but only one should not be limited to them.

Registration of copyright on materials on the Internet

The state does not register all the materials that are posted on the network. Such a right on the Internet applies only to databases and programs. However, there is still a way to protect your texts, photographs and drawings. Special legal organizations offer such a service as depositing the author's creations. After a simple procedure, a person receives an official document that confirms his rights to the text or image. The protection of rights on the Internet in this case will be quite effective and will allow solving the dispute without any problems in court, if necessary. In addition, it is also a reliable support in the event that in the future a person will need international protection of his copyrights.

Features protection of the original software or database

The current legislation considers computer programs as a literary work, and databases - as collections and objects of related rights. Unlike articles and drawings, you do not need to register programs and databases, you just need to compose documents correctly and mark your creation with a copyright symbol ©.

This procedure provides the following options.

• Protecting your intellectual property.
• Do not give employees the opportunity to pick up from the author's portal its development.
• Shows the priority of the author's creation.

Copyright in such cases is valid throughout the life of a person and another 70 years after his death.

Protection of the name of the site or portal, which acts as a media outlet

Registration of the portal as a media significantly enhances the status of the website. In addition, this option has several advantages:

• The owner of the site and its employees can enjoy all the rights that the law provides in relation to the media.
• The procedure avoids the responsibility for disseminating false data, if they are official citations of others. Unregistered news sites and portals do not apply these rules.
• The portal staff actually become journalists and they are allowed to attend conferences, briefings, etc.

Regarding the cost of registration, it is almost the same as the price for registration of an ordinary journal or newspaper.

Trademark registration process

On the real protection of copyright in the World Wide Web, you can speak only after registering a website or portal in the form of a trademark by state organizations. Unlike other options for protecting your rights, this service allows you to receive material compensation in the event that there was a violation of copyrights on the Internet by others. The owner also has the opportunity to sell rights to the site or domain and be protected from encroachment on their intellectual property.

Other ways to protect

In addition to the above options, there are other ways that you can protect copyright on the Internet. A fairly common situation is the conclusion of a contract with the authors of the content of the site. Any article or verse written by the copywriter is in fact his property. Even if the customer himself chose the topic of the order and paid for the content, the performer at any time can claim their rights and demand compensation. In the case of contract formation, this problem is eliminated.

Law and ethics on the Internet are quite a complex field, which is still at an early stage. Despite this, there are many simple options that allow you to protect your rights to the materials posted on the network, and each author should know them.