How to Copyright Your Blog

We’re 20 days into the new year. Have you changed the copyright date on your blog yet? (I just did it yesterday on both my personal blogs and the blogs here at Mom Central. Oops.)

According to Brad Templeton in his post, 10 Big Myths About Copyright Explained, “almost all things [including blogs] are copyrighted the moment they are written, and no copyright notice is required.” Still, it looks more professional if have a copyright notice somewhere on your blog – either in the sidebar and/or on your about page.

You should also license you blog with Creative Commons and display the badge in your sidebar. While licensing your blog with Creative Commons does not give you the same protection as registering your copyright, it acts in addition of your existing copyright. (See the Creative Commons FAQ page for more information.) Also, if you use Feedburner, make sure to display the Creative Commons badge in your RSS feed. (Go to How to Set Up Your Feedburner Account to learn how.)

Filing a copyright
If you are concerned about someone stealing your work (for example, if you’re trying to get a book or movie deal based on your blog) you should consider registering the copyright for all your blog’s content.

According to Denise Wakeman at Biz Tips Blog, “Blogs are considered literary texts and can be registered as such. But, what about the fact you’re adding new content all the time? You can register new content every three months to protect it.”

The U.S. Copyright Office is your best resource to learn how to do this. They offer information on What Does Copyright Protect? (website, domain name and recipe), Copyright Registration for Online Works (PDF) and Copyrighting Recipes (PDF).

Online filings with the U.S. Copyright Office are only $35 per filing and you can pay by credit or debit card or electronic check. Most online filers receive a certificate within nine months, and many receive their certificates earlier.

Before using the service, the Copyright Office recommends you first read eCO Acceptable File Types, eCO Tips, eCO FAQs, or eCO Tutorial (PowerPoint) eCO Tutorial (PDF). For recently added features, see eCO Updates.

More copyrighting resources

License your work at Creative Commons
Bloggers’ FAQ on Intellectual Property – Questions about Copyright from the Electronic Frontier Foundation
What to do when someone steals your content? from Lorelle on WordPress
Live blogging of the Blogher07: Business of You: Professional Blogging: Art and Commerce session from the Write Spot, LLC
10 Big Myths About Copyright Explained and Introduction to Copyrights from Brad Templeton
More on Recipe Copyrights from Food Blog S’cool
Copyright and Blogs – 14 Guidelines and Keeping it Legal from Problogger

Anne-Marie Nichols is the Social Media Manager at Mom Central Consulting. You can also find her blogging up some healthy recipes at This Mama Cooks!