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Creative Commons - Copyrighting your Web Content |
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 A very interesting copyright idea which you may know about? If not, I think it is worth checking out if you have copyright material on your website.
It is becoming increasingly easy for someone to copy your text or graphic material from your website and a quick search on Google for a section of your own text can often bring surprising results when you find that text or graphic material being used by others without permission.
This idea, called Creative Commons allows you to permit different levels of usage to your website visitors with those levels clearly visible and defined via a small, internationally recognisable and click able logo under the material. On clicking the logo, site visitors can find out very quickly the level of 'copyright' you have placed on that material.
Creative Commons licences are free, can be set up very easily and have worldwide support from such agencies as Microsoft and Google.
Creative Commons licences can be used for protecting a whole website, materials such as pdf's published on a website, graphics or photographs, and text places on the web. They are not legally enforceable in themselves and Creative Commons do not offer to support any action you take should misuse of your data take place. However, clearly stating the level of intended copyright on your website will lend considerable weight to any action you may wish to take should anyone misuse materials you place on the web. This does go one step further than just putting a copyright symbol on your materials as you are giving a clearly specified and accurately defined level of copyright easily viewed by site visitors.
Creative Commons licences can also be used in non-Web materials.
For more information and to find out how you can use these licences on your website visit:
http://www.creativecommons.org
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