The use of a
copyright notice is no longer required under U. S. law, but you should still
give notice whenever possible. Because prior law did contain such a
requirement, however, the use of notice is still relevant to the copyright
status of older works. Under the 1976 Copyright Act, creators of covered works
were required to give notice of copyright on the work in question. This
requirement was eliminated when the United States signed onto the Berne
Convention in March 1989.
You should give notice of copyright whenever
possible because it puts the public on notice 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 the defendant can't
claim innocent infringement as a defense. 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:
1. The symbol © (the letter C in a circle), or the word
"Copyright";
2. The year of first publication of the work. 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.
Here's an example: © 2002 Jane
Doe
Position of Notice The copyright notice should be
affixed to copies 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 container.
In Closing You work hard
to create books, articles, music and other items. Make sure you protect them by
giving copyright notice.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Richard A. Chapo
is an attorney with
http://www.sandiegobusinesslawfirm.com - providing legal
services to San Diego businesses.
