Can you copyright a websiteThe text, images and code can be protected, but not the idea, layout style or domain name

TimeBinder adds a layer of protection against AI and human fraud and disputes.

The file stays on your device. Your browser makes a digital fingerprint of the file. TimeBinder records the fingerprint and the time, not the file.

Short answer

Partly. The original text, photos, graphics, video and code on a website can be protected by copyright. Ideas, functional design elements, domain names, and the general layout or “look and feel” generally are not. A domain name or brand may be protected through trade marks instead. Rules vary by country.

What is and is not protected

The US Copyright Office says the Copyright Act does not explicitly recognise websites as a type of copyrightable subject matter, but you may be able to register a website or web page as a compilation or collective work if there is enough creative expression in how its content is selected, coordinated or arranged. Examples of uncopyrightable material particular to websites include ideas or plans for future websites, functional design elements, domain names or URLs, and the layout, format or “look and feel” of a web page. Individual works on a site, such as text, photographs and illustrations, can be registered if they are copyrightable (Circular 66).

The code that runs a site is treated as a computer program; see can you copyright code. A site’s name is usually a trade mark question: can you copyright a name.

Keeping dated records of a site

Keep dated exports of your pages, original images and source files, plus design files and drafts. A TimeBind records a SHA-256 fingerprint of the exact file and a time, anchored to Bitcoin. The fingerprint is made in your browser and the file is not uploaded.

A fingerprint of an export can help show what the files contained at a recorded time. A TimeBind shows a file existed by a recorded time and has not changed since. It does not register copyright, is not legal advice and does not by itself prove who made the file. A web page is not a fixed file unless you save it, and a saved copy does not prove what visitors saw. Ask an IP lawyer about registration and licences for content you did not create.

Make a TimeBind: first one free →

First Pooled TimeBind free, no card, then from US$5. An ASAP TimeBind is US$15.

Frequently asked questions

Can you copyright a website design?

The graphics and artwork can be protected if original, but functional elements and the general layout or “look and feel” generally are not.

Can you copyright a website idea?

No. Copyright protects expression, not ideas or plans.

Can you copyright a domain name?

Generally no. Domain names and URLs are not copyrightable, though a name may be a trade mark.

Is a website automatically copyrighted?

The original content on it generally is protected once created, without registration. Registration is optional in most countries, and in the US it is generally needed before suing.

Sources

US Copyright Office, Circular 66: Copyright registration of websites and website content.
US Copyright Office, Circular 61: Copyright registration of computer programs.
TimeBinder, Can you copyright a name?.

Related guides and tools

Your file’s fingerprint, anchored to a global network secured by real electricity and cryptography.

Editing a file—including with AI—changes its fingerprint, not its existing network record.

How this works

Your file’s SHA-256 fingerprint, a short code worked out from its exact contents, is made in your browser, and the file itself stays on your device. A cryptographic commitment to that fingerprint, which may be combined with others, is then anchored in a block on the Bitcoin blockchain. Bitcoin is secured by proof of work: computers around the world spend real electricity to add each block, and changing an earlier block would mean redoing that work faster than the rest of the network. Until that block is confirmed, your proof is pending. Once the Bitcoin anchoring is confirmed, you can verify the proof against that recorded commitment. The confirmed record can then be checked; Pooled TimeBinds are checked through TimeBinder, while ASAP TimeBinds can also be checked independently. If you check the file later and its fingerprint still matches, that shows the file existed no later than the recorded time. The record doesn’t show who made the file, whether AI was used, or that its contents are true.

Your filestays on your device
FingerprintSHA-256
Network timestampon Bitcoin

Record a fingerprint of the file you rely on

Add a layer of protection against AI and human fraud and disputes: a dated, checkable record of the exact file you hold.

Open the app and sign in with email or Google.
Add your files. They stay on your computer.
Seal them and download your Proof of Time certificates.

Open TimeBinder →

First Pooled TimeBind free, no card, then from US$5. See pricing.