The copyright notice should be affixed to copies or phonorecords in such
a way as to "give reasonable notice of the claim of copyright." The
three elements of the notice should ordinarily appear together on the
copies or phonorecords or on the phonorecord label or container. The
Copyright Office has issued regulations concerning the form and position
of the copyright notice in the Code of Federal Regulations (
[http://www.loc.gov/copyright/title37/201/37cfr201.20.html] ). For more
information, request [http://www.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ03.pdf] ,
"Copyright Notice."
-=Publications Incorporating U. S. Government Works=-
Works by the U. S. Government are not eligible for U. S. copyright
protection. For works published on and after March 1, 1989, the previous
notice requirement for works consisting primarily of one or more U. S.
Government works has been eliminated. However, use of a notice on such a
work will defeat a claim of innocent infringement as previously
described provided the notice also includes a statement that identifies
either those portions of the work in which copyright is claimed or those
portions that constitute U. S. Government material.
Example: (the letter C in a circle symbol) 2000 Jane Brown. Copyright
claimed in Chapters 7-10, exclusive of U. S. Government maps
Copies of works published before March 1, 1989, that consist primarily
of one or more works of the U. S. Government _*should*_ have a notice
and the identifying statement.
-=Unpublished Works=-
The author or copyright owner may wish to place a copyright notice on
any unpublished copies or phonorecords that leave his or her control. _
Example: Unpublished work (letter C in a circle symbol) 1999 Jane Doe
-=Omission of the Notice and Errors in Notice=-
The 1976 Copyright Act attempted to ameliorate the strict consequences
of failure to include notice under prior law. It contained provisions
that set out specific corrective steps to cure omissions or certain
errors in notice. Under these provisions, an applicant had 5 years after
publication to cure omission of notice or certain errors. Although these
provisions are technically still in the law, their impact has been
limited by the amendment making notice optional for all works published
on and after March 1, 1989. For further information, request Circular 3
[http://www.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ03.pdf].
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