Copyright symbol facts for kids

The copyright symbol (©) is a special mark that looks like a letter C inside a circle. It stands for "copyright". This symbol is used to show that a creative work, like a book, painting, or song, is protected by copyright law.

Copyright means that the creator of a work has the exclusive right to copy, share, and use their creation. It stops other people from using the work without permission. The copyright symbol helps tell everyone that a work is protected. While it's still widely recognized, many countries no longer require it to get copyright protection. This is because of an international agreement called the Berne Convention.

In the United States, the copyright symbol was required for a long time. But after March 1, 1989, it became optional. Even so, it can still be important for older works or in certain legal situations.

History of the Copyright Symbol

The idea of showing a work's copyright status isn't new. In the 1670s, some Scottish books used a printed coat-of-arms to show they were real and protected.

In the U.S., the first copyright law in 1802 required a very long notice. It had to say something like: "Entered according to act of Congress, in the year ____, by A. B., in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington." This notice usually went on the work itself. Later, in 1874, the notice became much shorter: "Copyright, 18____, by A. B."

The © symbol itself was first introduced in the U.S. in 1909. At first, it was only for pictures, drawings, and sculptures. Artists wanted a simple way to mark their work without writing a long notice on it. So, the idea of a small "C" in a circle was created. This way, the full copyright details could be placed somewhere else, like on the frame of a painting.

In 1954, the law changed again. From then on, the © symbol could be used for any published copyrighted work, not just art.

Copyright Notice Before 1989 in the U.S.

Before March 1, 1989, if you wanted to protect a work in the United States, you had to include a copyright notice. This notice needed three things:

• The © symbol, or the word "Copyright" or "Copr."
• The year the work was first published.
• The name of the copyright owner.

For example, a notice might look like this:

© 2011 John Smith

This notice was once necessary to get copyright protection in the U.S. However, this is no longer the case in most countries that follow the Berne Convention. The U.S. joined this convention in 1989.

The Berne Convention

The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works is an international agreement. Most countries around the world are part of it, including the U.S. Under this convention, you don't need to display a copyright notice to get copyright protection. Instead, copyright is automatically given to a work as soon as it's created.

The U.S. joined the Berne Convention on March 1, 1989. This made the copyright notice optional. However, the notice can still be helpful. If a work has a copyright notice, someone who copies it without permission usually can't claim they didn't know it was copyrighted. This can affect how much they might have to pay in damages.

Digital Representation

For a long time, typewriters and early computer systems couldn't easily make the © symbol. Because of this, people often used the characters (C) instead. The U.S. Copyright Office accepted this way of showing copyright. So, even today, you might see "(C)" used as an informal way to represent the copyright symbol.

See also

In Spanish: Símbolo de copyright para niños