Recently, Popular recording artist and songwriter Lizzo came under fire for using a 2017 tweet by Mina Lioness in her #1 Billboard top 100 single “Truth Hurts.”  Lizzo conceded and gave writer credit to Mina Lioness in October (2019). Today, Mina Lioness is a songwriter with a record-breaking, chart-topping hit song.

And for now, all is well in the music world.

But with all this intellectual property consistently being promoted on social media websites, protecting valuable content might be an arduous but necessary task.

And before anyone thinks copyrighting artistic content applies only to music, think again.

Original content on your WordPress website or anywhere on the internet may not enjoy copyright protection, either.

Updated in March 2019,  Circular 66 Copyright Registration of Websites and Website Content says there are specific circumstances in which website content can get copyright registration.

“The Copyright Act does not explicitly recognize websites as a type of copyrightable subject matter.”

So what is a website owner to do to protect their original digital content?
In short,  Circular 66 indicates the content owner will have to register content the same way they would submit a manuscript for copyright registration.

“The deposit requirements for websites and website content are generally the same as for any other work. If the work is unpublished or if it has been published solely online, you must submit a complete copy of the work. For example, if you want to register an entire website, you must submit all of the pages as they actually appear on the site, regardless of volume. If you want to register an individual work that appears on the website, the deposit must depict the work in the context in which it appears on the website or web page. ”

It took two years before Mina Lioness received credit for her iconic tweet on Twitter.  And that’s because she had so many witnesses who retweeted or liked her original content.   Most website owners don’t have that reach.  In the absence of that level of support, copyright registration is the next best thing.  Especially since a certificate of registration is required to bring a case of infringement. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/18pdf/17-571_e29f.pdf

Check all the requirements on Copyright.gov –
https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-digital.html
https://www.copyright.gov/registration/other-digital-content/index.html