
Ask HN: How to protect/copyright code/essays/papers published on my site? - wizardofoz
Hi,<p>I'm thinking of creating a personal website and putting on it source code, articles/essays, unpublished papers, etc. that I have/will writ(t)e(n).<p>However I am concerned some of these works might be stolen. I'm especially concerned that someone might publish on their own name the unpublished papers I have written and/or use my code in their programs and then claim it as their own.<p>Is there some way to prevent this? In case one of the above does happen, is there some way for me prove that I am the true author of the work?<p>I read a post on HN a while ago that discussed copyright. Over there one solution was to pay $35 fee and get all your work officially copyrighted. It seems like the best way to protect one's work but the only problem is $35 is a bit too expensive in my case. I intend on releasing code &#38; papers that discuss new ideas frequently (probably monthly, if not weekly). In that case 35 bucks is a bit too much to pay even on a monthly basis.<p>The nice thing about the $35 option is that you can copyright all of your work in one filing (done online at http://www.copyright.gov/eco/index.html). But the problem of cost persists if you decide to release stuff frequently.
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dkokelley
Well, officially once you write something, it is copyrighted. You don't have
to pay $35 to put © on it. However, in order to have some legal recourse if
someone takes your work, you will want to be able to prove prior art
(basically that you wrote it first).

If you want to use the site to host your unpublished/unfinished works, why do
you need them in the source code? Why not hide them?

If papers and essays are all you will be using the site for, you might
consider just installing Wordpress and using it to manage everything. It will
keep unfinished works hidden until you're ready to publish them, and Wordpress
has a datestamp that can be applied to posts to give some simple protection.
Of course the datestamp could be altered and there's nothing keeping me from
copying everything and putting an earlier date on it.

~~~
paulgb
Just FYI, prior art has to do with patents and is an unrelated concept.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prior_art>

~~~
dkokelley
That's absolutely right. I was just reading about patents somewhere else and
substituted the terms. Thanks for the catch.

------
jakewolf
From copyright.gov FAQs

"Do I have to register with your office to be protected? No. In general,
registration is voluntary. Copyright exists from the moment the work is
created. You will have to register, however, if you wish to bring a lawsuit
for infringement of a U.S. work."

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gojomo
Ultimately your only 'protection' is your willingness to enforce your rights
against unapproved uses -- which very generally includes lawsuits, legal
threats, takedown notices, and public shaming campaigns.

The paid registration is unlikely to deter anyone; it might be necessary if
you have to sue someone, but even then, it's the suing, not the registering,
that has teeth.

But mainly, you should resign yourself to the idea that someone, somewhere,
someday will copy your publicly-shared work. The copying probably won't cause
you enough damage to be worth prosecuting; only if your work has large
economic value, and the copying diverts some of that value from you to the
pirate/plagiarist, would vigorous enforcement be cost-beneficial.

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Zev
I think that if you were to ask for attribution if anyone used or cited your
work, most people would gladly do so. I have a feeling that the people that
are likely to try and steal your work would do so, regardless of your
copyright or license.

But, both of those thoughts are nothing more then my own personal opinions.
So, follow them with the appropriate warnings.

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etravers
I am not going to claim to know much about it, but have you considered a
creative commons license?

<http://creativecommons.org/>

------
gtani
read about DMCA takedowns:

[http://pcworld.co.nz/pcworld/pcw.nsf/feature/93FEDCEF6636CF9...](http://pcworld.co.nz/pcworld/pcw.nsf/feature/93FEDCEF6636CF90CC25757A0072B4B7)

[http://www.freelanceswitch.com/freelancing-
essentials/what-t...](http://www.freelanceswitch.com/freelancing-
essentials/what-to-do-when-someone-steals-your-work/)

