For works first published on and after March 1, 1989, use of the copyright notice is optional.  Before March 1, 1989, the use of the notice was mandatory on all published works.  Omitting the notice on any work first published before that date could result in the loss of copyright protection if corrective steps are not taken within a certain amount of time.  The curative steps are described in this circular under “Omission of Notice and Errors in Notice.”

The Copyright Office does not take a position on whether reprints of works first published with notice before March 1, 1989, which are distributed on or after March 1, 1989, must bear the copyright notice.

WHAT IS PUBLICATION?

The 1976 Copyright Act defines publication as “the distribution of copies or phonorecords of a work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending.”  An offering to distribute copies or phonorecords to a group of persons for purposes of further distribution, public performance, or public display also constitutes publication.  The following do not constitute publication:  printing or other reproduction of copies, performing or displaying a work publicly, or sending copies to the Copyright Office.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE NOT REQUIRED ON UNPUBLISHED WORKS

The copyright notice has never been required on unpublished works.  However, because the dividing line between a preliminary distribution and actual publication is sometimes difficult to determine, the copyright owner may wish to place a copyright notice on copies or phonorecords that leave his or her control to indicate that rights are claimed.

An appropriate notice for an unpublished work might be:  Unpublished work (C in a circle symbol) 1998 John Doe.

-------------------------------------------------------

-----------------
Form of notice
--------------

The form of the copyright notice used for “visually perceptible” copies—­that is, those that can be seen or read, either directly (such as books) or with the aid of a machine (such as films)—­is different from the form used for phonorecords of sound recordings (such as compact disks or cassettes).

VISUALLY PERCEPTIBLE COPIES

The notice for visually perceptible copies should contain three elements.  They should appear together or in close proximity on the copies.  The elements are: 

1. The symbol (the letter C in a circle), or the word “Copyright”, or
   the abbreviation “Copr.”; and