Decoding the meaning behind the copyright symbol
All right, what the heck does that copyright symbol mean? You know, the little “c” in a circle? This one - ©
What's it mean? When can you use it? I'm going to tell you the meaning of that copyright symbol and the exact format that you need to follow in your copyright notice.
What is the meaning of the copyright symbol?
Does it mean that you have a copyright registered with the copyright office? Nope.
Does it mean that you have mailed a copy of your work to yourself? No.
The copyright symbol literally means that you claim ownership in that work. That's it.
It also does not mean that the work is registered. A work doesn't have to be registered with the copyright office in order to have copyright protection. When you see a copyright notice, you know that the person is claiming rights to that thing. This is also pretty important because even though it's not required in order to have protection in your content, it does prevent someone else from claiming innocent infringement. In other words, "Oops, I didn't know that this was your property."
The 3-step formula for using a Copyright Notice
Step 1: Use that copyright symbol or the word copyright in your work.
Step 2: Insert the year that that work was published by you.
Step 3: List the owner's name. It might be your personal name or it might be your business's name.
That's the proper format for a copyright notice! And remember that copyright symbol only means that someone's claiming ownership in their work, it does not mean that it's registered. So you can use that copyright symbol, even if you haven't registered your content with the copyright office.