By R.S. Johnson

Many bloggers often wonder what their rights are regarding the content they publish online. This is one of the most confusing topics in which a straight answer seems almost impossible to find. But before you start running off to a copyright attorney, you must first understand a few concepts regarding the protection of intellectual property.

According to U.S. law and the Berne Convention (an international copyright agreement) any content that is produced in a “tangible” form is protected under law. In other words, you automatically own the rights to your material the moment it is written, published or posted either physically or digitally. These rights of ownership will last the entire length of the author’s life plus another 70 years. Registering with the copyright office is not required to possess these rights, but it does offer additional documentation for legal presentation if a court case does arise.

If you want to register with U.S. copyright office, it can be done online for $35 for a basic claim. It often can take 90 days to complete a filing in which during that period, official protection is not assured until the processing is complete. For additional information and pricing visit The U.S. Copyright Office.

If you are looking for a faster and more economical solution one approach is to time stamp your documents through a service. Like copyright registration, time stamping carries similar legal weight in a court of law. In fact, many bloggers and short story writers prefer it over copyrighting because of its low cost and speed of processing. The pricing depends on which service you use, with some services being as cheap as 40 cents per document. One service I recommend is Digitamp, they have the most competitive prices in the industry.

Another issue that few consider is the legal agreement they signed with their blogging service. Before you automatically clicking “yes” to anything, read the terms and conditions for publishing through a site or service. Many bloggers may be surprised to learn that even though they own the rights to their writings, they could be under contract to their blogging host if they wish to republish their material elsewhere.

If in your budget, a better approach might be to buy a domain and host your blog yourself. For one, you will have complete control of all material published on your site. Second, purchasing a domain offers better branding for your blog than a long, ambiguously generic web addresses often assigned through those free services. Lastly, by owning your own domain, you have the opportunity to monetize your site through the use of advertising revenue, which many blogging services will often regulate or restrict.

If you do plan to go at it alone, do realize you will not have the exposure that a blogging service often provides. A way around this is to register your site with as many bookmarking and search sites as possible. Registering with Digg, StumbleUpon and others, will generate greater exposure than solely relying on a blogging service for traffic. No matter which route you take, the key to any successful blog is self promotion and marketing, so take the time to learn it.

Finally, if you are serious about your writing and have aspirations of one day being a professional full time writer, you must start treating this passion as a business. By laying down the proper legal ground work early on, you can assure a successful and prosperous career in the future.

R.S. Johnson is Senior Editor and Founder of PCTutes.com

Tagged as: blogs, Content Creation, copyrighting, timestamping