Copyright notices

Copyright notice, need for

Copyright protection is granted to any original work of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression from which it can be perceived, reproduced, or communicated. Although legally, copyright is assumed and a copyright notice is not required to provide protection, you should include copyright notices in all documents.

Copyright notice, formats

The copyright notice states that the work contained within the item on which the notice appears is the intellectual property of “company”. The copyright notice usually takes the following forms:

[a new work] © 2008 company and its suppliers. All rights reserved. Terms of use.

[contains important corrections] © 1995–2008 company. All rights reserved.

[major revisions] Copyright © 2006, 2008 company. All rights reserved.

The format of the date signifies if the work is new (year of publication), contains important corrections (year of first publication–year of latest publication), or has been revised (year of first publication, year of latest publication). See Determining the copyright date.

Note

Only the copyright symbol ©, not the word “copyright”, is required in copyright notices. Including the word “copyright” does not afford any protection in addition to the symbol alone.

Copyright notice, placement

Software

Online, the copyright notice appears on the splash screen when a program is started and in the About dialog box on the Help menu of each program. Because online Help is copyrighted as part of the software product, its copyright notice should use the copyright date for the software itself.

Printed

Printed documentation includes a copyright notice on a separate page, which is usually on the back of the title page or a similar location in front matter. Electronic books that replace printed documentation also include copyright screens that follow the guidelines for printed documentation.

Web page

Each web page must include the standard copyright notice at the bottom:

Standard notice

© 2008 company and its suppliers. All rights reserved. Terms of use.

Determining the copyright date

The original copyright date is the year the work was first published. When updating material, follow these guidelines:

• If 85 percent or more of a piece is new, it is considered a new work, and the copyright should list only the current year at the time of republication. If less than 85 percent of a piece is new at republication, it is considered a derivative work, and the copyright should list both the original year of publication and the current year at the time of republication—for example, “© 1998, 2006 company.”

• If material contains misinformation that could cause a serious problem, the material should be republished immediately. If republication takes place in a year later than the year it was originally published, add the second year—for example, “Copyright © 2004–2007 company.”

• If material contains a typographical or formatting error that is corrected in reprinting, keep the original copyright date.