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.
Notice was required under the 1976 Copyright Act. This requirement was
eliminated when the United States adhered to the Berne Convention,
effective March 1, 1989. Although works published without notice before
that date could have entered the public domain in the United States, the
Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA) restores copyright in certain
foreign works originally published without notice. For further
information about copyright amendments in the URAA, request Circular 38
[http://www.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ38b.pdf] .
The Copyright Office does not take a position on whether copies of works
first published with notice before March 1, 1989, which are distributed
on or after March 1, 1989, must bear the copyright notice.
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 a proper notice of copyright appears on the
published copy or copies to which a defendant in a copyright
infringement suit had access, then no weight shall be given to such a
defendant's interposition of a defense based on innocent infringement in
mitigation of actual or statutory damages, except as provided in Title
17, Chap. 5, Sec. 504 of the copyright law. Innocent infringement occurs
when the infringer did not realize that the work was protected.
The use of the copyright notice is the responsibility of the copyright
owner and does not require advance permission from, or registration
with, the Copyright Office.