copyright internet definition copyright-notice
What exactly does &quot;Copyright &#169; [year] [company]&quot; on a website entail?
<p>Almost every website has some variation of "Copyright © [year] [company]" at the bottom. Sometimes they also add "All rights reserved".</p>

<p>What exactly do those terms entail? My biggest concern is this: by writing that, is the company claiming to own everything on the website, even potentially copyrighted user-submitted material?</p>

<p>The notice has a lot to do with legacy requirements in the United States to claim the copyright to a work. Up until 1989, the copyright notice was required. Today, the statements are mainly maintained to protect against "innocent infringement" which might reduce what a content owner can get in court.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>What exactly do those terms entail?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>That the owner stated owns all rights and you may do nothing with the content.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>My biggest concern is this: by writing that, is the company claiming to own everything on the website, even potentially copyrighted user-submitted material?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>That's exactly what they are doing. Depending on the terms of the specific site, content contributors generally either assign copyright to the site owner or license the content in a way that allows the site owner to do exactly what they want with it.</p>

<p>Site creators with the smarts or money to do it right/get someone to do it right usually state something like:</p>

<pre><code>Copyright [Site Owner] and contributors.
</code></pre>

<p>Other sites (like this one) state specifically what they hold the copyright to:</p>

<pre><code>site design / logo © 2015 Stack Exchange Inc
</code></pre>

<p><strong>THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE. CONSULT AN ATTORNEY REGARDING YOUR SPECIFIC SITUATION.</strong></p>
