Archive for the ‘Formalities’ Category
How to Write Copyright Symbols
(Editor’s note: This is a follow-up to our post on how to write copyright notices.)
At some point, you will want or need to insert a copyright symbol into a written work. This post deals provides writers with advice on insert the “C in a circle” symbol.
Uses
The regular copyright symbol is something you can add to any original, creative work that is recorded in a way that others can perceive or recognize. Originality and fixation are the only two prerequisites to receiving copyright protection on a work, and therefore those are the only prerequisites required in order to use the regular copyright symbol.
General Guidelines
- A creator is not required to use the © symbol on protected works.
- There is no penalty for not using the © symbol on protected works.
- Unlike in trademark law, there is no penalty for incorrectly using the © symbol.
Coding
Text documents (Windows):
Ctrl+Alt+C
Alt+0169
Text documents (Mac):
Option+G
Markup language documents
& # 169; (no spaces)
Notes
- When inserting © into text documents, hold down all the keys simultaneously.
- HTML documents likely also will accept © as the copyright symbol, but the other symbol is official HTML code.
- This code also will work in XML, Javascript and most other Unicode conventions. XSL, however, may require & # xA9; (no spaces)
- The closing semicolon must be included in all versions.
- If none of these work, write a C in parentheses: (C).
Phonorecord Copyright Symbol
Although the “C in a circle” is the most common copyright symbol, there is a second symbol — a “P in a circle” — is used for protected phonorecords. (Phonorecords are the containers that hold sound recordings, and are commonly known as vinyl records, compact discs and cassette tapes.)
To my knowledge, there is no standard way to write the “P in a circle” symbol; this symbol depends upon whether a font family has included it in its collection. In a pinch, use (P) for the “P in a circle” symbol. For more information on typesetting the “P in a circle” symbol, please see the Offset wiki.
© Copyright 2011, Core Copyright. On Twitter @corecopyright
Copyright, Grammar & Notices
This post was motivated by a question I received by e-mail about Vol. 1 of the Copyright Myths & Misconceptions series. The question, which was about a post on Tina Rathore’s filling Interstices blog, asked
Is it right to write “© Copyright by tina rathore ” with every blog post? I mean shouldn’t it be “copyrighted to Tina Rathore”? Please explain.
We are discussing this on Tina’s blog (link is http://tinarathore.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/stay-awhile/). Thanks.
Of the options that were presented in this question — using “Copyright by Tina Rathore” or “Copyright to Tina Rathore” — I probably would lean toward using the latter. Ultimately, though, neither of these choices seems satisfying or correct in light of some applicable research I am doing.
Why Copyright Is Important
Copyright used to be a topic that interested a nerdy or specialized few, and affected a limited amount of works and creators. This post outlines some reasons why copyright’s scope, breadth, and applicability has expanded, and why this area of intellectual property has become so important.
Core Copyright 