What Is the Copyright Symbol and How Do I Use It?

Learn how to include the copyright sign into your products, such as websites, publications, and images.

If your company or pastime includes creative activity such as writing, photography, making art, music, video, or even architecture, then copyright protection may apply to you. You may have pondered about utilising the copyright sign if you are the copyright owner of a copyrighted work.

What Exactly Is a Copyright Notice?

The copyright sign is a circle with the letter “C” in it, such as “.” Copyright symbols may be seen on books, websites, and most packaged items, including groceries and medications.

While the copyright mark is often in tiny size and hidden away on a corner, its purpose is to draw your attention to it.

Circular 3 of the United States Copyright Office provides background information on copyright law and how to deliver correct copyright notice to the public. The use of the notice was needed by law for protection on works published prior to March 1, 1989. In general, employing the sign becomes optional for works published on or after that date, although a published work may still enjoy copyright protection without it.

Circular 3, on the other hand, demonstrates how using the sign might benefit the copyright owner.

“The use of the notice notifies the public that a work is copyright protected, names the copyright owner, and displays the year of first publication.” Furthermore, if a work is infringed and contains a sufficient notice, the court will not give any weight to a defendant’s use of an innocent infringement defence—that is, a claim that the defendant was unaware that the work was protected. A defence of innocent infringement might result in a decrease in the amount of damages that the copyright owner would otherwise obtain.”

How to Make Use of the Copyright Symbol

The Copyright Office offers advice on how to appropriately utilise the emblem. There are distinctions between “visually perceptible copies,” which can be seen or read, such as a book or sculpture, and “phonorecords,” or sound recordings, which include a CD, record, MP3 file, and so on.

In general, the notification for visually observable copies should have three items that are either together or near to each other.

The sign (a circle with a letter C in it); the phrase “Copyright”; or the abbreviation “Copr.”

The year that the book was originally published.

The copyright holder’s name.

The elements for sound recordings normally need the same three components, with the exception that the symbol is (the letter P in a circle) instead of (the letter P in a circle).

While the requirements may seem straightforward, individuals may be left thinking, “How do I utilise the copyright symbol?” The following are some instances of how big corporations utilise the copyright sign on their website copyright notice.

The type of notification might vary somewhat across businesses and people. Furthermore, as previously stated, the copyright sign is not always required. However, the symbol’s role remains the same: to alert users that the recognised work is protected by copyright.