Copyright FAQs - What Exactly is the Significance of the © Copyright Symbol?

Copyright law is a system of law that provides authors and composers with the exclusive rights to control and profit from their creations, usually for a limited time. Protecting these rights is achieved by granting others only limited use of their work for specific purposes, such as criticism or comment.

Copyright laws are most often, but not exclusively, based on the idea of authorship. However, copyright law has evolved. In recent years, a system of "expression" has been recognized in which the authors' rights are limited to only those works that infringe upon the rights of others. All copyright laws in the United States are based on this "expression" standard.

Among other things, this means that there is no copyright notice required for an original work as long as it (1) was written and (2) was fixed in a tangible medium or mediums and not intended to be rewritten or republished so rapidly as to be unusable. Consequently, there is no need for attribution or registration with the U.S. Copyright Office.

And yet, the Copyright Act of 1976 states "claiming copyright … is prima facie evidence of the validity of the copyright." This means that even if one does not attach a copyright notice to a work, it is still presumed to be copyrighted and the author can bring suit for infringement.

This duality—that one must attach a notice but need not do so—has been going on for almost a century. The reasons for this duality are at best unclear and controversial, but at worst apparently hidden from public view, perhaps as part of some secret deal between Congress and registrations of works in hopes that registration would improve awareness of protection.

Current copyright law, in particular § 401 (d) of the Act, states that copyright notice may be affixed to a work in any form or medium "if notice is given in the manner prescribed by this section." This means that although a copyright notice is not required for a work to be copyrighted, one may still use the symbol if it appears on the work. The law does not specify what use of such a symbol constitutes actual "notice" or how it must appear.

The Copyright Office will accept any format as long as it contains:

the word "Copyright" or the abbreviation "Copr."; and

the year of first publication of the work in which copyright is claimed.

The following examples are acceptable:

© 2008 John Smith

C 2008 John Smith

(c) 2008 John Smith

And while you can see the difference between the first two options and the last, it is somewhat unclear whether they will be considered equivalent in a court of law. Nonetheless, most people use ©.

This explanation may seem extraneous, but it is important to understand that copyright notice is only one part of copyright law and not necessarily a necessary condition for protection. It is also important to know that using this symbol does not mean a work cannot be copied without permission or payment. It does not mean that the work can be freely distributed without paying a fee to the owner of the copyright. Copyright owners do not want their works copied by any means necessary.

But what exactly is the significance of using this symbol? Is it really helpful in protecting rights? And even if it is, is it better than registering a work with the Copyright Office?

The copyright notice and symbol have been around since 1881, when they were first allowed on federal register forms. Their use by 1884 had become so common that Congress suggested in 1892 that the use would be unnecessary and Congress didn't require them until 1976 when Congress debated creating a registration system.

In 1908, a law was passed requiring the use of notice for works published on and after January 1, 1909. However, there were some exceptions such as for "pictorial or graphic works published as illustrations … in magazines or other periodicals" and for "pictorial or graphic works published in newspapers or periodicals," provided that the name of the author, composer, artist, photographer, etc., holding copyright in the work appeared on the same page where it was first published. In 1989 this provision was repealed so that even those two exceptions did not apply.

The use of a copyright notice on any work has never been mandatory and its use has not been shown to affect how a court will view the subject's rights.

A copyright notice does not indicate to the public, or even to potential infringers, that a work is protected by copyright. It is simply a statement that the work has been published with an expressed belief of ownership and it serves no other purpose than that. In fact, the law does not require it for any use at all.

Most people who photocopy works without permission or pay for them without charging for the author's services think that because the copyright owner did not attach a notice to their work, they are permitted to do so. However, this is far from being true. In fact, the Copyright Act of 1976 contains no requirement for notice or any statement of ownership in order for a work to be protected under the copyright laws.

Even the lack of notice is not an excuse for anyone to copy or distribute a work without permission. The requirement for copyright notice was at one time thought to be a positive step toward encouraging use of copyright notices by authors, a means by which publishers could identify infringing works as easily as those which were supposed to have been published with permission.

However, it is clear that these efforts are not very effective in preventing copying and distribution and so they should be removed from the law.

The U.S. Copyright Office also offers an online service called the Copyright Registration System (CRS) to help people register works at the federal level. Copyright registration is a legal process that gives a copyright owner a set of options on how they can enforce their rights depending on what they choose to do when they register their work. This means that it is not mandatory, although it is one way to help protect copyrighted works and ensure that the owners get due credit for them.

It's worth noting that CRS does not accept all material for registration, including computer programs and some artistic works , such as sound recordings , movies, and most photography . For example, it will not accept manuscripts or screenplays unless they were first published as books . It also does not accept materials for which there is already a federal registration.

Registration can be done by submitting online (for those works eligible), by mail, or direct deposit:

Online - Registration can be handled in the eCO system , which is the electronic counterpart to the traditional paper form (Form CO). The eCO form can be filled out online and submitted over the internet. This method is to be used if you are submitting a single work of authorship such as an article, short story, poem, essay or any other single item that is "being given a separate copyright registration."

If you are submitting multiple items of authorship such as a book or musical album then Form CO must be used.

Conclusion

It is clearly evident that a copyright notice is not a necessary condition for protection of any kind. Neither is it sufficient to protect the rights of an author. While some may choose to attach one anyway, it serves no useful purpose and does not necessarily inform people or companies copying another's work that permission has been granted for them to do so.

If you need help understanding the laws regarding copyright then feel free to contact us . Our experienced intellectual property attorneys will make sure you fully understand your rights and can exercise those rights in any way you like.