17 U.S.C. § 401 Notice of copyright: Visually perceptible copies |
(a) General Provisions.— Whenever a work protected under this title is published in the United States
or elsewhere by authority of the copyright owner, a notice of copyright as provided by this section may be placed
on publicly distributed copies from which the work can be visually perceived, either directly or with the aid of a
machine or device.
(b) Form of Notice.— If a notice appears on the copies, it shall consist of the following three elements: (1) the symbol © (the letter C in a circle), or the word “Copyright”, or the abbreviation “Copr.”; and(c) Position of Notice.— The notice shall be affixed to the copies in such manner and location as to give reasonable notice of the claim of copyright. The Register of Copyrights shall prescribe by regulation, as examples, specific methods of affixation and positions of the notice on various types of works that will satisfy this requirement, but these specifications shall not be considered exhaustive. (d) Evidentiary Weight of Notice.— If a notice of copyright in the form and position specified by this section 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 the last sentence of section 504 (c)(2). |