How to write a copyright notice for your photos

In the US, a copyright notice on copies has three elements under 17 U.S.C. 401(b): the © symbol (or the word Copyright, or Copr.), the year of first publication, and the owner's name, for example © 2026 Jane Smith. It is optional for works published on or after March 1, 1989.

Published October 30, 2026. Drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources linked on this page. How we write our guides.

Copyright notice for photos: the three elements

This guide covers US law only. 17 U.S.C. 401(b) says that if a notice appears on copies, it consists of three elements:

1. The symbol. The statute lists three forms: the symbol © (the letter C in a circle), the word "Copyright", or the abbreviation "Copr." A letter c in brackets, "(c)", is not one of the forms in the list.
2. The year. The year of first publication of the work. The Copyright Office's Circular 1 adds the year of creation if the work is unpublished.
3. The owner's name. The name of the owner of copyright in the work, an abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a generally known alternative designation of the owner.

Circular 3 says the three elements generally appear as a single continuous statement, and gives "© 2017 John Doe" as its example. In the same form, a notice for a photo might read: © 2026 Jane Smith. Use the year of first publication, not simply the current year. For a compilation, or a derivative work incorporating previously published material, the statute says the year of first publication of the compilation or derivative work is sufficient.

The owner is not always the photographer. Circular 42 says the person who takes a photograph is generally its author and first owner, with a work-made-for-hire exception, and Circular 1 says the owner's rights can be transferred, generally in a signed writing. Put the name of whoever actually owns the copyright. For more on the owner question, see does a watermark protect your photos.

Whether posting a photo online counts as publication is a legal question. The Copyright Office's Circular 42 says the public display of a photograph, in and of itself, does not constitute publication.

Is a copyright notice required?

Not in the US for works published on or after March 1, 1989. Circular 3 says notice is optional for unpublished works, foreign works, and works published on or after March 1, 1989; Circular 1 says notice was required for works published in the US before that date. Under 17 U.S.C. 401(a) a notice "may be placed" on publicly distributed copies. You do not need the Copyright Office's permission to use one, and you do not need to register first.

It still does something. Circular 3 lists advantages that include making users aware that copyright is claimed, identifying the owner at the time of first publication, and identifying the year of first publication, which may be used to work out the term of copyright for an anonymous or pseudonymous work or a work made for hire. Under 17 U.S.C. 401(d), if a notice "in the form and position specified by this section" appears on the published copy a defendant had access to, no weight is given to that defendant's innocent infringement defence in mitigation of actual or statutory damages (with an exception tied to the last sentence of 17 U.S.C. 504(c)(2)). A notice does not replace registration; see how to register your photos.

Where to put a copyright notice on a photo

17 U.S.C. 401(c) says a notice is to be affixed to copies "in such manner and location as to give reasonable notice of the claim of copyright". The statute does not say anything specific about images, metadata or web pages, and the sources we cite do not say which of these counts. What follows is our advice, not a rule:

• On the image. We suggest a short visible line in a corner or along an edge. What to write and where it sits are covered in what to put in a watermark.
• In the file's metadata. We suggest writing the same line into the copyright field, so it travels with the file. The copyright metadata tool writes it into the Copyright notice field without touching the pixels. Free, no limit. Your pixels are not touched; only the metadata changes. See how to add copyright to photo metadata.
• Next to the photo on your site. We suggest the same line in the caption or page footer.

Information set forth in a notice of copyright, conveyed with a work in digital form, is among the items that can be copyright management information under 17 U.S.C. 1202(c). That is a separate rule from 401(c) and does not say a metadata field satisfies it.

How to type the copyright symbol

You can also copy the symbol from this page: ©. Microsoft and Apple document the following.

In Microsoft 365 and Office 2016 to 2024 apps on Windows, such as Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint (from Microsoft's page on inserting ASCII or Unicode symbols, steps checked October 2026):

1. Make sure the NUM LOCK key is on, if your keyboard requires it to type numbers on the numeric keypad.
2. Hold down ALT while you type 0169 on the numeric keypad, not on the number row.

Microsoft's page lists the symbol as ALT+0169 in its table of legal symbols. If you have trouble entering the code, the same page suggests Character Map, a program built into Windows from which you can copy a character and paste it into another program: in Windows 10, type "character" in the search box on the taskbar and choose Character Map.

In Word, Microsoft's keyboard shortcuts page lists typing (c) to insert a copyright symbol on both Windows and Mac. That is a Word feature; the notice must still carry the symbol itself, not the three typed characters.

On a Mac with macOS 27 (from Apple's macOS User Guide page on emoji and symbols, steps checked October 2026):

1. Open the Character Viewer: press Fn/Globe-E, or choose Edit > Emoji & Symbols.
2. Find the copyright symbol; Apple says the Character Viewer lets you search for symbols.
3. Click the symbol to add it to your text, or double-click it if the Character Viewer is expanded.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

Checked October 30, 2026.

• www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/401
• www.copyright.gov/circs/circ01.pdf
• www.copyright.gov/circs/circ03.pdf
• www.copyright.gov/circs/circ42.pdf
• www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/1202
• support.microsoft.com/en-us/word/insert-ascii-or-unicode-latin-based-symbols-and-characters
• support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/keyboard-shortcuts-in-word-95ef89dd-7142-4b50-afb2-f762f663ceb2
• support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/use-emoji-and-symbols-on-mac-mchlp1560/mac