Copyright notice should include

The notice should be affixed to copies or phonorecords of the work in such a manner and location as to give reasonable notice of the claim of copyright. For computer software, the copyright notice is generally placed on the medium of distribution. If physical media is used to distribute the software, the notice should be placed on the disk that contains the software.

If the software is downloaded, such as a mobile device app downloaded from an app store, a copyright notice should appear on the page or screen that is displayed when the product is downloaded. In addition, it is wise to make the copyright notice visible on the screen when the program is executed. One way of doing this is to include the notice on a splash screen that is temporarily shown when the program is initially executed.

Copyright registration is the process by which a formal claim of copyright is filed on a work with the U. Copyright Office. Registration is not a condition of copyright protection, although it is a prerequisite for filing a copyright lawsuit on U. 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.

It is not required that these elements appear in any particular order in the notice, but most notices are written in the order set forth above. The purpose is to give unequivocal notice of the copyright protection, so that the would-be thief cannot claim as a defense that he or she did not know about the protection. This will help make it clear to even the dullest minds that your work is copyrighted!

So, in the case of websites which can be accessed all over the world and software that might be distributed outside the U. The copyright notice must also state the year the work was published. It has yet to be decided exactly when a website is "published" for copyright purposes, since many websites are updated daily.

You should assume that any website that can be accessed has been "published" as soon as it launches, and include a copyright notice on it to reflect the original date. However, if an update contains a substantial amount of new material, it is considered to be a separate work of authorship in its own right. The notice for such a derivative work should contain the date the new work was published.

The notice need not contain the date or dates of the prior version or versions; however, it is common practice to include such dates in the copyright notice. The name of the copyright owner must also be included in the notice. Briefly, the owner is one of the following:. 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". 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. This portion of the site is for informational purposes only. The content is not legal advice. The statements and opinions are the expression of author, not LegalZoom, and have not been evaluated by LegalZoom for accuracy, completeness, or changes in the law. By Cindy DeRuyter, J. Confirm your work is eligible for copyright protection.

Create the copyright notice. The person or entity that owns the copyright. You may, but do not need to, include a statement of rights. For example, some copyright notices include the phrases "all rights reserved" or "some rights reserved. Although copyright notice is no longer required, a copyright owner would be wise to include a copyright notice because it prevents an infringer from raising a defense of innocent infringement. Where and how to place the notice: The notice should be affixed to copies of the copyrighted work in a way that gives reasonable notice of the claim of copyright.

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