Updating the Copyright on your WP Blog
Happy New Year! It is now 2009 (watch out when writing those checks) and I have a question. Does your WordPress website show your copyright as 2008 or 2009?
Copyright itself can be a tricky subject. While the newest copyright laws say that an item is copyrighted upon creation (whether registered or not), it’s still important to make sure that your property (intellectual included) is protected against theft.
Newer writers are frequently concerned that the samples and queries they send to editors will be stolen, but the truth is that this happens a lot less frequently than inexperienced writers think. In response, these writers slap the © symbol on everything they write and don’t realize that all they’ve managed to do is flag their work - as something from an amateur. Hence, avoid overusing the © symbol unless it’s really needed. If you’re submitting an article to an editor, skip it; if you’re making a handout for a class you’re teaching, include it.
On the other hand, your blog is your property as well and so it’s important that you edit your website code to show 2009 as the copyright year BUT there’s a problem. Changing your copyright date to 2009 insinuates that you’ve rewritten your entire blog as of the new date, and that’s not true. You’re merely adding new content.
Therefore, it’s important to note that you can add some code to your WordPress blog that will allow you to keep the original copyright date on old blog posts while keeping the copyright date on the blog and new posts current. No matter what page of your blog shows, the correct copyright will accompany it. I’m not a techie, so I’ll refer you to Keep an Up-To-Date Copyright Notice on Your WordPress Blog on BloggingTips for more information on how to write the code.
If you’re looking to make money writing you’ have to know just as much about how to protect yourself as how to craft an effective piece. Do you have a blog? Is your code updated? You’d better double check!
Other great freelance writing resources on the web:
January 6th, 2009 at 9:02 am
Thanks, this was useful!