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As an online business in the UK, protecting your content and intellectual property is vital to your success. Unfortunately, copying online content is one of the most common forms of intellectual property infringement. Users who copy your website’s content may violate your copyright, steal your ideas, and potentially damage your business. However, there are several steps you can take to prevent users from copying content from your website without permission. This article will explore some of the most effective ways to stop users from copying original content from your website.
Common Types of Content Copying
Many UK online businesses need help with users copying images, text and photographs from their websites.
This is a common problem for content creators and businesses specialising in photograph and image creation, as many users attempt to copy digital content from their websites. This poses multiple issues, such as preventing the company from charging and benefitting from that content. Additionally, another business may take credit for your hard work.
However, there are some helpful methods to try and prevent people from copying content from your web pages, which we will explore below.
1. Copyright Notices and Watermarks
One of the simplest ways to deter users from copying your content is to include copyright notices and watermarks on your website.
A copyright notice informs users that your content has copyright protection and that they cannot use it without your permission. In contrast, a watermark is a visible marker added to your images or other media, making them difficult for others to use without your consent.
Using copyright notices and watermarks lets you notify website visitors that your content is protected and discourage them from copying it without your permission. Accordingly, visitors may assume breaching your copyright notices may lead to legal action.
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2. Website Terms of Use
A website terms of use document informs users of what they are and are not permitted to do on your website. Essentially, the document acts as a rulebook and details behaviour that may see a user banned or suspended from the site.
This type of notice clarifies that your business owns the copyrighted material they are using without your permission. Essentially, this acts as a cease and desist action and requests the immediate removal of your material, failing which legal action may follow.
LegalVision’s Trade Mark Essentials Guide provides valuable information for any business looking to register or enforce a trade mark.
3. Proactive Measures
There are several tools available that can help you prevent users from copying your content. For example, some website tools allow you to disable the right-click function, while others can add protection to your images and other media.
Anti-copying tools can be effective. However, they can also be expensive and are not entirely foolproof. Additionally, they can sometimes make it difficult for users to access your content, hurting your website’s user experience and discouraging genuine users.
4. Monitor Your Website and Threaten Legal Action as a Last Resort
Keeping an eye on any attempted copying of your website’s content is helpful. Some businesses use software such as Google Alerts to check for instances of content copying.
Upon discovering any unpermitted copying, your business can consider contacting the relevant individual and providing a DMCA notice or written threat of legal action.
However, most companies will only pursue formal legal action if the actions of that individual or organisation are harming their reputation or cash flow. An excellent example would be a rival company stealing your price list and accompanying images word for word.
Key Takeaways
Digital content copying is becoming an increasingly significant problem for UK online businesses. Absent protective measures, it is relatively simple to copy reams of information from a website. As such, many business owners now obtain advice from expert lawyers and website designers to guard against these forms of intellectual property and copyright infringement.
If you need help dealing with website content theft, our experienced e-commerce and online business lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is not possible to trade mark an entire commercial website. However, you can attempt to trade mark crucial, unique elements such as your logo and company name.
Whilst no software is foolproof, most plagiarism checkers have high accuracy figures in detecting stolen content.
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