How Do Virtual Businesses Ensure the Protection of Their Websites Through Copyright Laws?

“Written by Leezer Kaur, a student”.

Introduction

A copyright is a right of an individual to reproduce and use the work of some other person who has created it. We have laws related to it; these laws help in the protection of the ideas and works of the original owner. A copyright is a right concerning the intellectual property created by the person on their own, and it protects the owner so that his ideas won’t be used without his permission or license or before the expiry of a particular period for which his copyright is applicable. It grants the exclusive right to the creator to use that property and duplicate it. It could be related to art, literary work, computer software, cinematic works, musical lyrics, etc. However, the copyright must be registered with the appropriate authority. The other important point is that copyright has to be creative and in tangible form to be registered. It does not apply to any idea or theory in intangible form. With new inventions and improvements in technologies, the trend of virtual or online businesses has started. These laws are also applicable to online businesses and provide them with the same protection as was provided in the physical form. Infringement of copyright refers to a condition whereby a person uses the registered copyrighted work of an individual without any license or prior permission. Copyright is provided to the owner to protect his work, but when it is infringed by someone, then the owner can claim civil or criminal remedy. He may also for administrative action whereby he may ask the Registrar of Copyrights office to ban the importation or delivery of the infringing copies. At the international level, we have an organization by the name of The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) dealing with the protection of copyright from infringement, mainly in cyberspace.

Virtual Businesses and Copyright Laws

The website of a company is the main platform where the selling and buying of the products, i.e. the business of the company, takes place, so there is a possibility that the logos, designs and products, etc., available on their website may be copied by the visitors to those websites or the competitors of such an e-company. However, Intellectual property rights are also available to these e-commerce websites. Intellectual property rights are also available to e-commerce websites. These systems are granted protection under patents and copyrights. The design and software of the website are protected under copyright laws. Registration of the segregated components of the website is considered the best way to save your website from Intellectual property infringements by third parties or visitors to the website. The process to obtain a copyright includes the following steps:

1. The person with unique work applies along with the prescribed fees to the appropriate authority.

2. Then, a diary number is issued to the person.

3. A period of 30 days is there in which any objection regarding the copyright could be raised.

4. The application is accepted and scrutinized and if no discrepancy is found then the registrar approves the application.

5. Then a certificate of registration is issued.

6. If any application is objected to, then the registrar sends a letter to both parties and asks for a reply.

7. If the objections are found true then the application may be rejected.

Conclusion

With the rapid advancement of e-commerce in the modern era, Intellectual property rights are being provided to e-commerce websites as well so that the components of their website, including logos, products, designs, etc., could be protected from being used by strangers. These laws prevent third parties from copying the website and components available on the website, and it also punishes the defaulters who fail to comply with the provisions. We have Copyright laws that prevent protect the original ideas and works of a person. However, it can be said that this protection is not completely available to e-commerce websites, and there is a need to enact special provisions for the same. This is important to improve the effectiveness of such laws for e-commerce websites.

References

1. 'Intellectual property in E-commerce', available at: https://www.legalpedia.co.in/articlecontent/intellectual-property-in-e-commerce.html.

2. 'Exploring the role of IPR in E-commerce', available at: https://iptse.com/exploring-the-role-of-ipr-in-e-commerce/.

3. 'How Intellectual property relates to E-commerce', available at: https://iptse.com/exploring-the-role-of-ipr-in-e-commerce/.

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