The use of a copyright notice is no longer required under U. S. law, although
it is often beneficial. Because prior law did contain such a requirement,
however, the use of notice is still relevant to the copyright status of older
works.
Notice was required under the 1976 Copyright Act. This requirement was eliminated
when the United States adhered to the Berne Convention, effective March 1,
1989. Although works published without notice before that date could have
entered the public domain in the United States, the Uruguay Round Agreements
Act (URAA) restores copyright in certain foreign works originally published
without notice.
The Copyright Office does not take a position on whether copies of works
first published with notice before March 1, 1989, which are distributed on
or after March 1, 1989, must bear the copyright notice.
Use of the notice may be important because it informs the public that the
work is protected by copyright, identifies the copyright owner, and shows
the year of first publication. Furthermore, in the event that a work is infringed,
if a proper notice of copyright appears on the published copy or copies to
which a defendant in a copyright infringement suit had access, then no weight
shall be given to such a defendant's interposition of a defense based on innocent
infringement in mitigation of actual or statutory damages, except as provided
in section 504(c)(2) of the copyright law. Innocent infringement occurs when
the infringer did not realize that the work was protected.
The use of the copyright notice is the responsibility of the copyright owner
and does not require advance permission from, or registration with, the Copyright
Office.
Form of Notice for Visually Perceptible Copies
The notice for visually perceptible copies should contain all the following
three elements:
2. The year of first publication of the work. In the case
of compilations or derivative works incorporating previously published material,
the year date of first publication of the compilation or derivative work is
sufficient. The year date may be omitted where a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural
work, with accompanying textual matter, if any, is reproduced in or on greeting
cards, postcards, stationery, jewelry, dolls, toys, or any useful article;
and
3. The name of the owner of copyright in the work, or an
abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a generally known alternative
designation of the owner.
The "C in a circle" notice is used only on "visually perceptible
copies." Certain kinds of works--for example, musical, dramatic, and
literary works--may be fixed not in "copies" but by means of sound
in an audio recording. Since audio recordings such as audio tapes and phonograph
disks are "phonorecords" and not "copies," the "C
in a circle" notice is not used to indicate protection of the underlying
musical, dramatic, or literary work that is recorded.
Form of Notice for Phonorecords of Sound Recordings*
* Sound recordings are defined in the law as "works that result from
the fixation of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds, but not including
the sounds accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work."
Common examples include recordings of music, drama, or lectures. A sound
recording is not the same as a phonorecord. A phonorecord is the physical
object in which works of authorship are embodied. The word "phonorecord"
includes cassette tapes, CDs, LPs, 45 r. p. m. disks, as well as other formats.
The notice for phonorecords embodying a sound recording should contain all
the following three elements:
1. The symbol (the letter P in a circle); and
2. The year of first publication of the sound recording;
and
3. The name of the owner of copyright in the sound
recording, or an abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a generally
known alternative designation of the owner. If the producer of the sound recording
is named on the phonorecord label or container and if no other name appears
in conjunction with the notice, the producer's name shall be considered a
part of the notice.
NOTE: Since questions may arise from the use of variant forms
of the notice, you may wish to seek legal advice before using any form
of the notice other than those given here.
Position of Notice
The copyright notice should be affixed to copies or phonorecords in such
a way as to "give reasonable notice of the claim of copyright."
The three elements of the notice should ordinarily appear together on the
copies or phonorecords or on the phonorecord label or container. The Copyright
Office has issued regulations concerning the form and position of the copyright
notice in the Code of Federal Regulations (37 CFR Section 201.20).
Publications Incorporating U. S. Government Works
Works by the U. S. Government are not eligible for U. S. copyright protection.
For works published on and after March 1, 1989, the previous notice requirement
for works consisting primarily of one or more U. S. Government works has been
eliminated. However, use of a notice on such a work will defeat a claim of
innocent infringement as previously described provided the notice also includes
a statement that identifies either those portions of the work in which copyright
is claimed or those portions that constitute U. S. Government material.
Copies of works published before March 1, 1989, that consist primarily of
one or more works of the U. S. Government should
have a notice and the identifying statement.
Unpublished Works
The author or copyright owner may wish to place a copyright notice on any
unpublished copies or phonorecords that leave his or her control.
The 1976 Copyright Act attempted to ameliorate the strict consequences of
failure to include notice under prior law. It contained provisions that set
out specific corrective steps to cure omissions or certain errors in notice.
Under these provisions, an applicant had 5 years after publication to cure
omission of notice or certain errors. Although these provisions are technically
still in the law, their impact has been limited by the amendment making notice
optional for all works published on and after March 1, 1989.
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