How to Use the Copyright Sign

Copyright law is often misunderstood, making copyright infringement and theft a real problem for today's creators, especially on the internet. Regardless of whether you publish your work online or offline, you must take the necessary precautions to ensure your work is protected from infringement and theft.

 Not all work, however, is automatically protected by copyright law. Those works protected by U.S. copyright law include literary, musical, dramatic, pictorial, graphic, sculptural, architectural, choreographic, and audiovisual works as well as sound recordings, motion pictures, and pantomimes.

 Generally, copyrighted work is accompanied by the copyright symbol © - a circle with a "C" in the middle; "copr.," the abbreviation for copyright, or the full word "copyright." The © is used only on those works that are what the U.S. Copyright Office describes as "visually perceptible copies."

In addition to the copyright symbol, copyright information also includes the date the work was first published and the individual who owns the copyright. A common copyright notice is written: © 2007 Jane Doe.

Not all works that are copyrighted are visually perceptible and therefore do not show copyright ownership with the typical ©.  Audio works – such as phonographic disks and tapes – illustrate ownership and copyright protection with a , the letter "P" in a circle. The copyright notice for an audio work includes the year the sound recording was first published and the copyright owner. A typical copyright notice for audio works is written:  2007 1-2-3 Records.

You may also want to put a copyright notice on any unpublished works you have that may be given or shown to others. To add a copyright notice to an unpublished work, simply follow this formula: Unpublished work © 2007 Jane Doe.

If you opt for a copyright notice that is not described above, the U.S. Copyright Office advises that, should you have questions, you may want to seek legal counsel.

Until 1989 the law required all copyrighted works, under the Notice of Copyright, to use one of the preceding to acknowledge ownership of copyright. All of those works prior to March 1, 1989 must include a copyright notice, according to the 1976 Copyright Act.

The law requiring copyright notice, however, is no longer in effect. Still, despite a copyright notice not being a legal requirement, there are several benefits to using the Notice of Copyright, including:

• The copyright notice notifies the public that the work is protected by a copyright.

• The person who owns the copyright is identified.

• The year the work was first published is clearly illustrated.

• Should someone infringe upon or steal your copyrighted work and you take them to court, you are virtually guaranteed to win your case. Without the copyright notice on your work, an individual can claim he didn't realize that the work was, indeed, copyrighted.

Because a copyright notice offers you numerous benefits, seriously consider adding a copyright notice to your published – and even your unpublished – works. The extra few minutes it takes to add a copyright notice to your work will provide you with extra protection against copyright infringement and theft.