How Do I Copyright a Website Idea?

Learn how to copyright your website idea.

Technically speaking, a website idea is copyrighted as soon as you commit it to paper. However, for you to be able to protect the copyright in court, you must register it with the U.S. Copyright Office.

Identification

Nobody can see the ideas in your head. The first thing to do is put your website idea on paper. You can create a detailed written description, a wireframe, which is an organizational chart of the site structure, or a drawing of what the website looks like.

Types of Documents

The Copyright Office requires you to determine the type of document you are submitting. If you drew the website design, it would be a visual art document. If you used a wireframe or written description, it would be a text document.

Options

The next step is to copyright your work. You can do this online by visiting the electronic Copyright Office, or eCO, section of the Copyright Office's website, completing fill-in Form CO, submitting the appropriate fee and uploading your website idea in a common electronic format, such as PDF.

If you prefer to copyright the website idea by postal mail, you can send Form CO, payment and two copies of the website idea to:

Library of Congress

Copyright Office

101 Independence Ave., SE

Washington, D.C. 20559-6000

References

• U.S. Copyright Office: Copyright Law of the United States

Resources

• U.S. Copyright Office