How to Write a Copyright Notice Correctly?Ī copyright notice should include the following elements: Copyright Symbol Moreover, having a clear copyright notice on your content makes it easier for someone to contact you and request your permission to use your work legally. While there is no guarantee that having a copyright notice will actually help your case, it could make it harder for the copyright infringer to claim ignorance and potentially be an argument for you to claim more damages.įor that reason, copyright notices are often used as a deterrent against unauthorized use. Should someone infringe your copyright, you could specifically mention in court that they should have known better as you had put them on notice. You could specifically mention that it should not be shared, reproduced, or modified without your permission. Having a copyright notice in place makes it clear to your users that the content is your own and lets you decide which rights you wish to keep over your work. What are the Benefits of Copyright Notices? This includes books, poetry, films and movies, songs or sound recordings, architectural works, software, blog posts, website content, or art, among others. Who Needs a Copyright Notice and What Types of Content Should Have One?Īnyone who produces proprietary or original content would be wise to have a copyright statement as, while it is not legally required, it is a simple solution and, as always, it is better to be safe than sorry.Īs mentioned above, any type of original content that you create on a tangible medium (therefore allowing it to be reproduced or shared) would benefit from having a copyright notice stating your ownership of said content.
In the United States, for example, work created on or after January 1, 1978, is protected by copyright for the duration of the life of the author plus 70 years. However, countries do have some flexibility and some have decided to grant longer durations according to the type of content created. Under the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, as a general rule (and there are some exceptions), the duration of protection given should be the life of the author plus an additional 50 years. Legally, you do not need to have a copyright notice displayed on your work for your rights to exist, be protected, and be enforceable.Ĭopyright automatically arises from the moment original work is created and lasts for a certain number of years, which varies depending on your jurisdiction.
Note, however, that registration is not possible in all countries and that you must therefore refer to national laws and processes for more details. In other words, registration is simply an extra step that you can take to create a public record of your ownership. Lastly, having it registered on a publicly-accessible database could make it easier for someone to get in touch with the owner of the copyright to request permission to use the content. In some countries, including the United States, registration might also affect the amount of money that you could receive in damages as well as allow you to recover attorney fees. Copyright Office in order to be able to enforce their rights in court should there be an infringement. However, you may choose to do so to make it easier to enforce your rights should you wish to bring forward a copyright infringement lawsuit against a perpetrator and claim financial damages.įor example, in the United States one must register their copyright with the U.S.
It is free and automatically arises with the simple creation of your work – no formalities are required. No, you do not need to register your copyright for it to exist. We will dissect a typical copyright notice and provide examples below. In other words, its purpose is to publicly state and claim ownership of the original work that you have created and its related rights.Ī copyright notice is usually fairly simple and consists of the word “copyright” or the associated symbol, the name of the owner, and the year of first publication or creation. What is a Copyright Notice?Ī copyright notice is a statement used to warn your users or readers that the work that they are consuming is your intellectual property and that you hold rights to it.
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