A copyright notice should be included on a website whenever it goes live--becomes available to the public over the Internet. Although not mandatory, using a copyright notice costs nothing, and may help to deter infringements. It can also help you win more damages (money) if you successfully sue someone for copying your website.

Form of Notice

There are strict technical requirements as to what a copyright notice must contain if it is to serve its purpose of preventing an innocent infringer defense. A valid copyright notice contains three elements:

• the copyright symbol ©, or the words "Copyright" or "Copr.,"
• if website is published, the year of publication, and
• the name of the copyright owner.

It is not required that these elements appear in any particular order in the notice, but most notices are written in the order set forth above.

Copyright Symbol

In the United States either the © symbol or the words "Copyright" or "Copr." may be used. Or you can use the © symbol and the words Copyright or Copr. (This will help make it clear to even the dullest minds that your work is copyrighted.)

However, in those foreign countries that require that a copyright notice appear on a published work for it to be protected by copyright at all, you must use the © symbol (you can also use the words Copyright or Copr. if you wish). So, in the case of websites (which can be accessed all over the world) and software that might be distributed outside the U.S., be sure to always use the © symbol.

Year of  Publication

The copyright notice must also state the year the work was published. It has yet to be decided exactly when a website is published for copyright purposes. You should assume that any website that can be accessed by Internet users has been published and include a copyright notice on it.

Of course, most websites and software programs are continually revised and updated. The copyright notice doesn't have to be changed if an update consists only of minor revisions. 

However, if an update contains a substantial amount of new material, it is considered to be a separate work of authorship in its own right. The notice for such a derivative work should contain the date the new work was published. The notice need not contain the date or dates of the prior version or versions; however, it is common practice to include such dates in the copyright notice.

Copyright Owner’s Name

The name of the copyright owner must also be included in the notice. Briefly, the owner is one of the following:

• the person or persons who created the work
• the legal owner of a work made for hire, or
• the person or entity (partnership or corporation) to whom all the author's exclusive copyright rights have been transferred.

Where to Place Notice

It is legally sufficient to place one copyright notice for a website on the home page (usually at the bottom). This single notice is all that’s required, no matter how big the website. However, you are perfectly free to use more than one notice. If you wish, you can include a notice on the bottom of every page. 

Sometimes, web site designers turn the copyright notice into a hyperlink. When users clink on the link, they are sent to a page setting forth copyright and other restrictions on use of the site in more detail. This is not required, but may help deter infringements.