Here’s your privacy quiz for the day. If you had to have only four things on your website, what would your Privacy Guru® suggest?

Want a hint?

They are four things that protect you, your work, and your website visitors.

Here we go with the answers. The four essential elements your Privacy Guru® wants you to have on your website are:

Intellectual property protection- Safeguard your work with a copyright notice protecting the contents of your website. Have the statement appear on the bottom of each page of your website. Here is the correct way to publish a copyright notice:

©2006-2007 Privacy & Security Solutions, Inc. All Rights Reserved

(Do not use the word “copyright” and the symbol – only the symbol).

Privacy policy/statement- In many states it is the law that a business that collects information from visitors provide a privacy/statement policy on its website. Whether or not it is mandated in your state or whether or not you collect data from visitors, I consider a privacy policy a business imperative. This document lets your visitors know what, if any, information you collect from them, what you do with it, and how you protect that information. Here is our policy as an example: http://www.privacygurus.com/privacypolicy.php

Terms of use- Think of a terms of use statement as a contract between you and your site's end users. A terms of use statement specifies how your website's visitors can and cannot use your website. For example, “All right, title and interest in and to the Content of this Site belongs solely and exclusively to us, unless otherwise noted,” or “You may access the Site and its Content for your personal real estate business purposes only.”

Disclaimers- A disclaimer is a statement that denies responsibility. Disclaimers could be setup on a number of places within your website. You could use a disclaimer to say that the information provided on your website is not intended for legal or professional advice. You could use a disclaimer to let visitors to your site know about how you are, or are not, affiliated with other websites to which you provide links. Also, if outside contributors participate in providing content, you could use a disclaimer to disclaim the accuracy and authenticity of the information contained on your website. These disclaimers may or may not be combined with your privacy policy or terms of use statement. To find out the best legal stance for your website, consult with the Privacy Gurus®.

So...did you get all the answers right?

If not, then you have some essential privacy and intellectual property protection work to do. If yes, you are in the know on what you need for your website. Now…do you have all of them currently posted on your website? If so, have they been reviewed in the last year for possible changes to the law and proper language?

With all you have invested into your Internet presence, be sure to take advantage of having the Privacy Gurus® on your team to protect it!

Darity Wesley is CEO and Legal Counsel for Privacy Solutions, Inc. a San Diego based consulting firm. Her team of Privacy Gurus® work with you to create policies and procedures to establish the expectation of privacy for your members, clients, customers, prospects, affiliates, associates, employees and vendors. You can reach her at (619)670-9462 or Darity@privacygurus.com