Can the owner of a message board claim ownership to the posts contained within it?

Question

Can posts by independent forum members be claimed as property by the owner? See the particular subject of my attention here:

http://forums.catholic-convert.com/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=45108

Furthermore, it also states "Legal recourse may be chosen by the author of the post(s)". Personally, this sounds absurd unless the post content is copyrighted or is blatantly slanderous.

Of course, the site admin can ban whoever s/he feels suited to, but the supposed legal recourse that is threatened upon the general public seems a bit preposterous. Has anyone had any experience with this?

Answer 1

I noticed you said "this sounds absurd unless the post content is copyrighted...."  You seem to be under a misconception about copyright.  When a post is made to the message board, copyright automatically attaches to the post.  Nothing else needs to be done, although registration is available for additional rights.

The website is correct that the copyright of message board posts are likely owned by the author.  For example, you own the copyright to your posts, and I own the copyright to my posts.  As such, while I am free to copy my own posts, it is likely infringement for me to copy your posts.  If I copy your post without your permission, then you can sue me for copyright infringement.

However, the website is poorly worded with regard to the message board's ownership of the work.  The original author "owns" the copyright to the post, while the message board is probably "licensed" the work at least under some sort of implied license.  The message board certainly does not "own" the work, but I suspect this was an innocent mistake on the website's part.  Maybe that's where you got confused, and I can see why.