Copywright "TOS"

**joshusa** · 09-18-2006, 12:52 AM

Alright, here's a scenario. Some webmaster creates a site.com that lets users upload "the user's work" to site.com, and also has a "TOS" section in the upload page that mentions by uploading the user's content the person grants that site the right to use, reproduce, distribute.... and using the content will not infridge any copywrites.. blahblah... and the site will forever be exclusive to site.com. The site.com then puts the content up for the public to see, and claim everything is copywright on site.com and the user's content cannot be redistributed. Is this even possible?

Now the main question question is, will a simple page, grant this guy exclusive ownership to uploaded material, and will they be able to have any case in court if someone is using "Their" content?

If that's the case, then if some site like imageshack puts up a page like that, they have the rights to sue anyone who uses their image because technically its "their" content, and own exclusive rights.

**PeterLancs** · 09-18-2006, 11:03 AM

yeah i suppose it would be theirs if it is stated in the TOS (agreement) the user is supposed to read things like that and if they dont they could end up paying a £50 per hour subscription fee hehe

**imported_mattd** · 09-18-2006, 12:59 PM

You could argue that someone uploaded your copyright material without your consent

But anyway - in the UK I dont think you can do this sort of thing without proper explicit things like signatures etc

**joshusa** · 09-19-2006, 12:28 AM

Still, how would they be able to prove it's their content if someone's using it?

**Bryan Le** · 09-19-2006, 12:57 AM

Sorry, to be honest I couldn't really understand your first paragraph...

**joshusa** · 09-19-2006, 02:16 AM

there, i clarified it

**joshusa** · 09-24-2006, 01:45 AM

can anyone help?

**imported_mattd** · 09-24-2006, 08:57 PM

I am from the UK so only know how it works here, but seeing as the majority of most western society's laws are based on the UK legal system I imagine its the same sort of thing. I am not a lawyer or an expert or anything so take this all as a guide!

In the UK any thing you create is automatically covered under copyright. It does not need to be explicitly stated - it is automatically there etc. But you can also officailly register copyrighted works. This needs to be done with the copyright body in your country, and will probably cost a fee.

The point of registration is that you can prove without any doubt that the work is yours.

Another alternative is to watermark your stuff, either with steganography, visible water marks, file attributes/metadata, or a combination of these.

As I mentioned, I do not think it is possible to transfer the copyrights without a proper signed, legally binding document.