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A contribution to a collective work, A part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, A translation, A supplementary work, A compilation, An instructional text, A test, Answer material for a test, or An atlas. It is my opinion that
design of a web site does not fall into any of
above categories. As a result, you do not own
copyright to
design and can do nothing about
fact that a competitor is using
design. Obviously, this is not
answer that most site owners want to hear. So, what can you do to protect your business?
When you hire an outside party to design, alter, amend or improve your site, you must have them sign a written contract. The contract must include a clause clearly establishing that
copyright to
material produced is vested with you, not
designer. You should then file
contract with your important documents as some designers "forget" that they assigned
copyright to you. Presenting a copy of
contract and noting that it allows for
recovery of attorney's fees usually solves
problem.
The issue of copyright ownership of a web site or aspect of a site pops up often. Finding your design being used on another domain is bad enough, but it can get worse. If you sell your business,
attorney for
party purchasing your business will always ask about
copyright of
site as part of
due diligence process. More than a few business deals have fallen apart when
lack of copyright ownership is discovered. Obtaining copyright at
outset of your business effort will avoid serious problems in
future.

Richard A. Chapo, Esq., is an attorney with www.SanDiegoIncorporate.com and can be contacted at Richard@SanDiegoIncorporate.com. This article is for general education purposes and does not address every facet of the subject matter. Nothing in this article creates an attorney-client relationship.