INTRODUCTION

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.

This circular discusses both the copyright notice provisions as originally enacted in the 1976 Copyright Act (title 17, U.S.  Code), which took effect January 1, 1978, and the effect of the 1988 Berne Convention Implementation Act, which amended the copyright law to make the use of a copyright notice optional on copies of works published on and after March 1, 1989.  Specifications for the proper form and placement of the notice are described in this circular.

Works published before January 1, 1978, are governed by the previous copyright law.  Under that law, if a work was published under the copyright owner’s authority without a proper notice of copyright, all copyright protection for that work was permanently lost in the United States.

The Uruguay Round Agreements Act of 1994 (URAA) (Pl 103-465) modified the effect of publication without notice for certain foreign works.  Under this Act, copyright is automatically restored, effective January 1, 1996, for certain foreign works placed into the public domain because of lack of proper notice or noncompliance with other legal requirements.  Although restoration is automatic, if the copyright owner wishes to enforce rights against reliance parties (those who, relying on the public domain status of a work, were already using the work before the URAA was enacted), he/she must either file with the Copyright Office a Notice of Intent to Enforce the restored copyright or serve such a notice on the reliance party.

For more information about the copyright notice under the law in effect before January 1, 1978, request Circular 96 Section 202.2, “Copyright Notice”, from the Copyright Office.  For more information about restoration of copyright under the URAA, request Circular 38b, “Highlights of Copyright Amendments Contained in the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA).”

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Use of the copyright notice
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Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States to authors of “original works of authorship.”  When a work is published under the authority of the copyright owner (see definition of “publication” below), a notice of copyright may be placed on all publicly distributed copies or phonorecords.  The use of the notice is the responsibility of the copyright owner and does not require permission from, or registration with, the Copyright Office.

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 the work carries a proper notice, the court will not give any weight to a defendant’s interposition of an innocent infringement defense—­that is, that he or she did not realize that the work was protected.  An innocent infringement defense may result in a reduction in damages that the copyright owner would otherwise receive.