Posts Tagged ‘Copyright notice’

Copyright Notice

Monday, June 22nd, 2020

On the topic of copyrights, many of the basics have been covered, including the benefits of copyright registration and the duration of copyright registration. However, this post will discuss copyright notice, which is distinct from copyright registration. While copyright registration validates an author’s claim to a work with the U.S. Copyright Office, a copyright notice validates an author’s claim to a work with the public.

The following will detail the elements of copyright notice, when it’s required and when it’s optional, the legal formalities that surround copyright notice and the advantages of including a notice on a work. Before delving too far into this post, it is important to note that for works created after March 1, 1989, copyright notice is optional, but for works created prior to that date, it is generally required.

Copyright notice is a statement put on copies of a work to inform the public that the author is claiming ownership. There are three elements to a notice, and they most often occur as a single continuous statement: (1) The copyright symbol ©; the word “copyright” or the abbreviation “copr.” (2) The year of first publication of the work and (3) The name of the copyright owner. The use of a copyright notice is the responsibility of the copyright owner and does not require permission from the Copyright Office, nor does it require registration.

For works published prior to March 1, 1989, the copyright owner was required to place an effective notice on all publicly distributed “visually perceptible” copies. Visually perceptible copies are those that can be seen or read, either directly or with the help of a machine, such as a film. For works published before the above date, the copyright notice had to be placed on copies in a permanent way that was legible to an ordinary user of the work and could not be concealed from view upon reasonable examination.

As described above, there are three general elements of a copyright notice and form a single continuous statement. However, for works that required copyright notice, it was acceptable to omit the year of publication for works reproduced on greeting cards, postcards, stationery, jewelry, dolls, toys or any “useful” article. Information regarding the specifics of elements of notice can be found in the Compendium on the Copyright Office’s website.

Copyright notice is optional for unpublished works, foreign works or works published on or after March 1, 1989. Although copyright notice is optional for these works, there are several advantages to using a copyright notice: notice makes potential users aware that copyright is claimed in the work; in the case of a published work, a notice may prevent a defendant in a copyright infringement action from attempting to limit his or her liability for damages or injunctive relief based on an “innocent infringement defense”; notice identifies the copyright owner at the work was first published for parties seeking permission to use the work; notice identifies the year of first publication, which may be used to determine the term of copyright protection in the case of an anonymous work, a pseudonymous work or a work made for hire; and notice may prevent the work from becoming an orphan work by identifying the copyright owner and specifying the term of the copyright.

In sum, although copyright notice is optional for works created after March 1, 1989, the notice has several advantages that can be extremely beneficial to an author in multiple circumstances. Notice does not need to be registered or approved with the Copyright Office. For works created prior to March 1, 1989, copyright notice is mandatory and there are several formats in which it can be used depending on practicality.

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