Navigate / Create

Helping bloggers navigate the law

  • Home
  • About
  • Archives
  • Resources
  • Disclaimer
  • Contact

© Basics: Copyright is Automatic

May 17, 2014

It is not uncommon for me to hear bloggers wonder aloud about whether they should “copyright” their work. Maybe you’ve had this question yourself. How does a blogger go about copyrighting their work?

Well I’ve got good news for you: you don’t have to do a thing!

Copyright protection arises automatically upon creation of a work. Or more specifically, copyright is automatic where a work:

  • Is original;
  • Is substantial enough; and
  • Is in a material form.

Let’s break it down.

I’m going to address originality in a separate post, because it’s so interesting.

Substantial enough: There must be enough content for copyright protection to attach. This is a pretty simple requirement to satisfy – pictures, blog posts (or any slabs of text), podcasts and vlogs (video logs) are all substantial enough to be protected. Names and titles are generally not substantial enough to have copyright protection. That’s why it’s possible to have several books, movies (or blogs!) with the same name. Legal protection of names generally falls under the domain of trademark law or business names registration. Again, that is a post for another day.

Titles

Material form: This basically means that your content must be set down somewhere relatively permanent – written down, typed out, drawn, painted, recorded. It cannot exist only in your head and it cannot exist only in a transient form (like streaming an online discussion without also saving that stream somewhere).

copyright-www.lucentimagery.com-3Material form. Photo by Lucent Imagery, used with permission.

Pretty straightforward, right? Almost all of the content you produce for your blog will attract copyright protection automatically (yay!)

But I thought you needed to include that little © symbol to have copyright protection?

Nope. But it’s good practice to include that symbol, your name and the year the work was created (e.g. © Kylie Pappalardo 2014) to provide people with the information they need to figure out whom to ask permission from if they’d like to use your work.

 

Post Signature

Comments {7} Filed Under: Copyright Basics

Comments

  1. lucent imagery says

    May 27, 2014 at 3:20 am

    I’m such a proud bloggy Auntie! Love you and love your new adventure. x

    Reply
  2. Kristen says

    May 28, 2014 at 12:54 am

    Kylie! Thank you!

    thank you for creating a space for this much needed information and making it so digestible and easy to understand. You’ve really delivered, without the overwhelm.

    Awesome job. The website looks great.

    Reply
    • Kylie says

      May 28, 2014 at 3:02 am

      Thank you lovely!

      Reply
  3. Anne says

    May 28, 2014 at 4:02 am

    Thanks for the helpful advice Kylie. There are lots of legal grey areas I think that bloggers are seeking advice on, so yours will be much appreciated.

    Reply
    • Kylie says

      May 28, 2014 at 5:42 am

      Hi Anne, thanks for the visit and for commenting! I think one problem is that many bloggers are not even sure which areas are grey and which are not! So I’m definitely hoping to improve clarity around the law here

      Reply
  4. Amanda (@lambsearshoney) says

    May 29, 2014 at 1:25 am

    Nice first post Kylie. Looking forward to seeing what else you have coming.

    Reply
    • Kylie says

      May 29, 2014 at 1:33 am

      Thanks Amanda!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

download_20140514_093721

Hey there, I’m Kylie. I provide bloggers (like you) with information to help you navigate the legal issues around blogging – so you can get on with the important job of creating!
Read more here

Stay Connected

        

Subscribe to posts by email



Created by Webfish.

Most popular posts

Where to find free and legal content online
There is no copyright in ideas
Copyright ownership and collaboration
Stop, collaborate + listen
Why I write

Categories

  • Collaboration
  • Copyright Basics
  • Copyright cases
  • Copyright Licensing
  • Creative Commons
  • Creativity
  • Key Concepts
  • Legal nuances
  • Personal
  • Terms of Use (social media)
  • Videos

Recent Comments

  • Kylie on Video: There is no copyright in ideas
  • Kristyn Middleton on Video: There is no copyright in ideas
  • Kylie on On the importance of giving credit
  • lucent imagery on On the importance of giving credit
  • lucent imagery on Legal exceptions to copyright infringement

Copyright © 2020. Design goodness from Squeesome!