Common Question -- How Do I Copyright My Blog or Website?

The simple answer to this is -- your writing is automatically protected by copyright at the moment that you create it.

There is no need to register your web page content, blog, or give-away special reports and ebooks in order for them to be inherently covered as your intellectual property.

And this means that everyone else's writing is also copyright protected, and NOT available for you to lift and use on your website, or in your blog or ebook.

EXCEPTIONS

Quotes from famous people of the type that show up on Facebook graphics and as website inspirational space fillers may be essentially copyrighted still, but are usually okay to use when accompanied by the name of the author.

Copyrights do end -- if not renewed -- and intellectual property falls into a status called the public domain. Usually that happens when 70 years or more have passed after the author has died. So you're free to quote more extensively from Shakespeare and Socrates.

But if when a work is no longer protected by copyright, for your own integrity it's best to make a reasonable effort to attribute a quote to the author, rather than create the impression that the words are yours.

NO Need to Seek Permission to Paraphrase

Every writer gets ideas and inspiration from other writers. We all research our facts and figures.

It's perfectly fine to paraphrase a copyrighted source when you go to the extent that the original source is unrecognizable.

It's also okay to write from your own knowledge, even though your knowledge has come from a myriad of sources. Your explanation of your understanding or application of someone else's theory is really your original expression and not plagiarism.

More than Writing is Copyrighted

Photos and other works of art are also considered intellectual property that carry inherent copyright by the photographer or artist.

However, you can purchase a license to use photos and drawings on your website from online repositories such as

• istockphoto.com

• dreamstime.com

• depositphotos.com

Acquiring your graphics from any of these sites, and others, is the second best way to stay out of trouble with the use of photos and drawings on your blog and website. Read the terms and conditions to make sure it's okay to use photos of unhappy people to suggest someone with depression or other mental illness.

The best way to stay out of trouble with photos for your site is to use what Wix makes available in the Image Gallery in your editing tools.