What should copyright notice include

Copyright Office , the federal agency charged with overseeing copyright registration. Should you ever need to sue an infringer , the existence of the copyright notice will help to establish that the defendant had actual notice of your rights. Put differently, he or she will not be able to claim ignorance.

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In some states, the information on this website may be considered a lawyer referral service. Please reference the Terms of Use and the Supplemental Terms for specific information related to your state. Grow Your Legal Practice. Meet the Editors. How to best use a copyright notice to deter infringement of your website content. Form of Copyright Notice There are relatively strict technical requirements as to what a copyright notice must contain if it is to serve its purpose of preventing people from claiming in court that they were "innocent-infringers.

Year of Publication The copyright notice must also state the year the work was published. Copyright Owner's Name The name of the copyright owner must also be included in the notice. Briefly, the owner is one of the following: the person or persons who created the work the legal owner of a work made for hire, or the person or entity partnership or corporation to whom all the author's exclusive copyright rights have been transferred.

Where to Place Copyright Notice It is legally sufficient to place one copyright notice for a website on the home page usually at the bottom, sometimes known as the "footer".

Talk to a Lawyer Need a lawyer? Start here. Practice Area Please select Zip Code. The copyright statement specifies that the images and content from the site can only be used for fair use purposes, and any violations of the Copyright Act may lead to legal action. You can also link to a copyright notice, as the example does, to provide more copyright details.

If you allow the use or display of your copyrighted material under certain circumstances, outline the rules for use in your copyright page, as shown in the example. This protects your content from theft and copyright infringement. Strengthen the protection of your work by adding a copyright notice to let others know that your work is copyrighted and requires authorization for use.

Table of Contents What Is Copyright? Copyright provides the creator with exclusive rights to: Reproduce the work Distribute or sell the work Display or perform the work publicly Create derivative works based on the original work. Architectural works Sound recordings Audiovisual works, including motion pictures Artworks Dramatic works, including any accompanying music Musical works, including any accompanying words Literary works Choreographic works.

Name of the copyright owner : This can be an individual, multiple individuals, an organization, or a business. Books or ebooks often have a copyright page at the beginning or end of the book. Photos and other forms of digital art often have a copyright statement near the bottom of the work or a watermark label.

Placement can vary; the key is to put your notice where others are likely to see it. You have protection whether or not you register your copyright. However, registration paves the way for you to defend against unlawful use of your works and receive statutory damages from the person or company that infringed on your rights. When you choose to register a copyright with the U. Copyright Office , you can do so electronically or with a paper registration application.

Just as you do not need to register your copyrighted work to obtain protection, you do not need to include a formal copyright notice on your creation. However, doing so puts others on notice that your composition or work is not in the public domain.

To protect your copyrightable creation, you may want to work with an online service provider that can help you register your work. Another option is to hire an intellectual property attorney in your state.

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By Cindy DeRuyter, J. Confirm your work is eligible for copyright protection.