Copyright symbol © copy and paste

When to use the © symbol

You own the copyright in anything original you create the moment you create it: a photo, a blog post, a song, a design. Registration and symbols are not what create the protection. So the © does not grant you rights. It announces them. That announcement matters for two reasons:

1. It removes excuses. Someone who copies clearly marked work cannot credibly claim they thought it was free to use, which strengthens your position if you ever pursue a claim.
2. It deters casual copying. Most copying online is lazy, not malicious. A visible notice stops a share of it before it happens.

A complete notice has three parts: the symbol (or the word “Copyright”), the year of first publication, and the owner’s name. Like this:

© 2026 Rivertown Pottery

Add “All rights reserved” if you want to make the position unambiguous. If you publish across several years, use a range: © 2021–2026. Our notice generator builds the line for you, with the HTML included.

© vs ® vs ™: which one do you need?

People mix these up constantly, and they do different jobs:

• © covers creative work: writing, images, music, code, video.
• ™ claims a brand name or logo as a trademark, no registration needed.
• ® means the trademark is formally registered with a government office. Using ® on an unregistered mark can get you in trouble, so do not guess.

There is also ℗ for sound recordings, which you will see on album releases, and ℠ for service brands.