Copyright notice
Encyclopedia
A copyright notice, either as symbol or phrase, informs users of the underlying claim to copyright
ownership in a published work.
Copyright law is different from country to country, and a copyright notice is required in about 20 countries for a work to be protected under copyright. Before 1989 all published works in the US had to contain a copyright notice, the © symbol followed by the publication date and copyright owner's name, to be protected by copyright. This is no longer the case and use of a copyright notice is now optional in the US, though they may still be used as a deterrent against infringement, or as a notice that the owner intends on holding their claim to copyright.
There are technical requirements as to the information a copyright notice must contain. In the US a copyright notice must contain the copyright symbol
(a lower case letter c completely surrounded by a circle), or its equivalent in computer code
. The word "copyright" or the abbreviation "Copr." are also accepted in the US, but not in other countries. Works distributed outside the US use the © symbol. The copyright notice must also contain the year in which the work was first published, and the name of the copyright owner, which may be the author
, the legal owner of the work made for hire, or the person or entity to whom the copyright has been transferred. According to US Copyright Office regulations the copyright notice must not be concealed from an ordinary user's view.
. She then posted this snippet to YouTube
. The NFL sent an official DMCA request to YouTube that the recording be removed. Seltzer, who had expected this, challenged the takedown, and the snippet was restored. Seltzer has also posted the overreaching claims of the Major League Baseball
.
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
ownership in a published work.
Copyright law is different from country to country, and a copyright notice is required in about 20 countries for a work to be protected under copyright. Before 1989 all published works in the US had to contain a copyright notice, the © symbol followed by the publication date and copyright owner's name, to be protected by copyright. This is no longer the case and use of a copyright notice is now optional in the US, though they may still be used as a deterrent against infringement, or as a notice that the owner intends on holding their claim to copyright.
Technical requirements
Copyright symbol
The copyright symbol, or copyright sign, designated by © , is the symbol used in copyright notices for works other than sound recordings . The use of the symbol is described in United States copyright law, and, internationally, by the Universal Copyright Convention...
(a lower case letter c completely surrounded by a circle), or its equivalent in computer code
Unicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
. The word "copyright" or the abbreviation "Copr." are also accepted in the US, but not in other countries. Works distributed outside the US use the © symbol. The copyright notice must also contain the year in which the work was first published, and the name of the copyright owner, which may be the author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, the legal owner of the work made for hire, or the person or entity to whom the copyright has been transferred. According to US Copyright Office regulations the copyright notice must not be concealed from an ordinary user's view.
Overstatement of rights
Legal scholar Wendy Seltzer has pointed out how many organizations overstate their rights in the copyright notice. For her law class in 2007, Seltzer copied the televised copyright notice of the NFL, during the 2007 Superbowl, using her rights under fair useFair use
Fair use is a limitation and exception to the exclusive right granted by copyright law to the author of a creative work. In United States copyright law, fair use is a doctrine that permits limited use of copyrighted material without acquiring permission from the rights holders...
. She then posted this snippet to YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. The NFL sent an official DMCA request to YouTube that the recording be removed. Seltzer, who had expected this, challenged the takedown, and the snippet was restored. Seltzer has also posted the overreaching claims of the Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
.
See also
- Anti-copyright noticeAnti-copyright noticeAn anti-copyright notice is a specific statement that is added to a work in order to encourage wide distribution. Such notices are legally required to host such specific media; under the Berne Convention in international copyright law, works are protected even if no copyright statement is attached...
- Sound recording copyright symbolSound recording copyright symbolThe ' symbol, a circled P, is the copyright symbol used to provide notice of copyright in a sound recording . The use of the symbol originated in United States copyright law and is specified internationally in the Convention for the Protection of Producers of Phonograms Against Unauthorized...
- CopyleftCopyleftCopyleft is a play on the word copyright to describe the practice of using copyright law to offer the right to distribute copies and modified versions of a work and requiring that the same rights be preserved in modified versions of the work...
- Enclosed CEnclosed CEnclosed C or circled Latin C is a typographical symbol. As one of many enclosed alphanumerics, the symbol is a "C" within a circle.Enclosed C should not be confused with the copyright symbol , which is also a capital letter "C" within a circle....