How to Protect Online Text

Online text, ranging from instant messaging to academic papers, is protected by intellectual property laws. While this text may seem to be sent into an abyss of electronic messages, hackers and other nefarious people may steal this information for their own uses. Individuals need to use intellectual property protections such as copyrighting and trademarks to protect online text or other digital products.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Speak with an intellectual property lawyer to determine the best course of action. The typical method of protecting digital text is to file for copyright protection. One great resource for finding pro bono law assistance in your area is a local law school or university.
2. Explore the rights offered to you under copyright law. Copyright protections allow the legal owner to distribute, reproduce or display the text in question. As well, copyright law allows an individual to transfer his or her copyright to another person as a means of payment or as an assignment.
3. Examine the public use provision of U.S. copyright law. Copyrights protect copying, illegal distribution and performance of digital text without the permission of the holder. The public can utilize excerpts or quotes from a text in news reporting, scholarship or non-profit education without expressed consent.
4. Appreciate the length of protection offered by a copyright. U.S. copyright law states that any work created after 1978 that features copyright protection is intact for the life of the legal owner plus 70 years after his or her death.
5. Seek out a trademark if your digital text is a slogan, symbol or phrase. Trademarks are not applicable to papers or books, but any short text that is used for business purposes can be covered by a trademark. Registered trademarks with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office provide greater protection than voluntary trademarks (see Resources below).

Tips & Warnings

• Understand the federal government's concern over the protection of digital text. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) put out a report on the topic of copyright issues in the growing field of digital media (see Resources below).
• Develop an understanding of the potential damage caused by neglecting to protect digital text. Text placed online without legal protections can be copied by anyone in the world. Quotes can be taken out of context by bloggers and your words can lose their power through overexposure.

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