Legal Question in Technology Law in Virginia

Re: How do I protect my website?

The short answer is that ultimately you can't. If someone is going to do it, there is little you can do about it.

From the technological angle, you could have dynamic webpages, making it more difficult to download the HTML (or use a program like HayWyre to create the code). This will not stop the person with the time and money to copy your website if they are really eager to do so, though.

From a legal standpoint, you can make it ugly for them *after* they copy your website. To start, you want to register your website with the U.S. Copyright Office. This must be done before anyone copies your website so that you can get statutory damages and attorneys' fees. You may also want to list your website with http://www.firstuse.com which is a service that archives your website and promises to stand up in court later and swear that you built the website on whatever date you register it with them.

For more information about copyrighting websites, contact me at [email protected]

Re: How do I protect my website from being copied and used by someone else?

You should register it with the Copyright office, and re-register each time you make significant changes. You may also want to look into registering your trademarks.