However, most prefer to use the symbol because it is both smaller and more recognizeable. The copyright symbol is exactly what it sounds like, either the famous ©, a (c) or the word “Copyright”. Typically, a copyright notice contains four different elements, each of which are brief but important. So, this should only take a moment to master though it can save a lot of headaches, time and money down the road. So what should you put in your copyright footer? The formula is actually very simple and there’s only a few things that you’ll likely want to include. Though I’m quick to remind everyone that you don’t need to have a copyright symbol or any kind of notice on your work for it to be copyright protected, at least not since 1978 in the U.S., having a copyright footer on your site is probably a good idea just because of the large amount of confusion on this issue and it does put potential infringers on notice, reducing “innocent infringer” claims.īesides, you don’t want people believing that your work is available for copying freely if it isn’t. One of the most common questions I get asked is “Does the copyright notice in my footer look ok?”
