Posted in Online Publishing Strategy	November 27, 2006

An effective online publishing strategy means keeping your website up to date and protecting the content from plagiarists.

For example, the New Year is right around the corner. In a month or so, as part of your online publishing strategy, you'll want to change the copyright date on your website to 2007.

By Peter A. Schaible, Editor-At-Large Mequoda Daily and Library

Your online publishing strategy should include copyrighting all of the 2006 content to protect yourself from plagiarists. Here are some helpful resources:

• Copyright Office Basics is an online circular from the U.S. Copyright Office. The title says it all.
• U.S. Copyright Office application forms are available in PDF here.
• You may also request forms by mail at Copyright Forms by Mail.
• The Copyright Website is a private enterprise, web-based, copyright registration service that enables Internet content creators to submit copyright registration applications online.

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You answer a few questions and it:

• completes the appropriate Copyright Registration form;
• verifies that the Copyright Registration form does not contain any logical inconsistencies;
• captures the website or digital assets;
• converts the website or digital assets to an appropriate format; and
• burns the converted files to a compact disc.

Then they submit the entire package, along with all required fees and deposits to the Copyright Office for registration.

The total charge is $129, which includes the $45 government filing fee. So the cost is only $84 more than if you did it all yourself. The entire process takes only about five minutes.

Whether you do it yourself or pay a service such as The Copyright Website, copyrighting your 2006 website content should definitely be part of your overall online publishing strategy.