Can someone steal your poem/song your write and post on the internet?

United States
September 5, 2011 8:40pm CST
Hi, There's a site called gather that I like to post stuff on and I get points for doing so. If I post poems, songs on this site, or other online sites, can someone steal them from me?
3 responses
• Australia
6 Sep 11
In Australia, any work that you produce - any poem or song that you write - is automatically granted copyright and immediately becomes your product. And that is all well and good if you can prove 'he said, she said' arguments surrounding its authenticity. So it is always best to ensure that you do all that you can to remain sole owner of your product; which may not be the case when using particular sites. Some sites have provisions that your work becomes theirs, to do whatever they want with. Alternatively, you may retain ownership but be prohibited from posting your poem or song on other sites. So it is always best to check the terms and conditions of a site, and to read and study them thoroughly.
• United States
6 Sep 11
Thank you!
• Philippines
6 Sep 11
Of course they can steal your poem online. It's so easy to do it. You have to have some kind of rights for your works. Try googling "creative commons" license.
• United States
6 Sep 11
But doesn't creative commons mean to share with others?
• Southend-On-Sea, England
9 Oct 11
Absolutely, yes! I write for Dooyoo and Ciao, and notice a lot of plagiarism on there where people have 'stolen' material from elsewhere on the internet, claiming it to be their own. If you get your work copyrighted, you can legally pursue anybody who's stolen/copied your work online. I'm not 100% sure, but I believe copyright laws apply the same online as offline.