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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 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 G6&169; (the letter C in a circle), or the word
"Copyright", or the abbreviation "Copr."; and
(2) the year of first publication of the work; in the case of
compilations, or derivative works incorporating previously
published material, the year date of first publication of the
compilation or derivative work is sufficient. The year date may
be omitted where a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work, with
accompanying text matter, if any, is reproduced in or on greeting
cards, postcards, stationery, jewelry, dolls, toys, or any useful
articles; and
(3) the name of the owner of copyright in the work, or an
abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a generally
known alternative designation of the owner.
(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).
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