Is content on my blog copyrighted?

New Yorkers express themselves in various ways and on various mediums. They may be writing songs and books and publishing them in traditional formats, or they could be expressing their opinions online in their blogs. The question that then arises is who has the right to content published on blogs?

First of all, once any original work of authorship is expressed in any medium, it becomes subject to copyright protection. However it is important to understand the difference between the existence of copyright protection and actually getting copyright protection. Copyright registration is not a prerequisite of copyright protection — it exists whether or not registered. However, there are certain benefits to registering a copyright, such as recovering reasonable attorney’s fees and statutory awards against the infringer, instead of actual damages.

So when it comes to blogs, as soon as someone writes a blog, it becomes copyrighted, granting the writer all the rights associated with that writing. Even if the writer does not register their copyright, they still may be able to recover statutory damages against an infringer if the registration is made within three months of the first publication of the published item.

Protecting one’s intellectual property rights is very important and may be complicated for many to understand. However, experienced attorneys may be able to guide New York residents through the process of registering their copyright at the right time, so that they can protect their rights in case of copyright infringement. Given all the methods of publication that are available today, protecting a person’s intellectual property can be more important than ever before.

Source: The Copyright Society of the USA, “What is copyright?” Accessed on July 18, 2016