Add copyright notice to a web page

It is strongly recommended that you protect your work online from copyright infringement, by placing copyright notices to them.



In this article, I'd like to just share on how to include a copyright notice to your blogs or web pages, one on every page will suffice.

To do that, you'll need to add the copyright symbol © besides other text. The usual format would be to include the following in sequence:

1. the word, Copyright
2. the copyright symbol, ©
3. the year of publication
4. the copyright owner's name
5. the statement (this is optional). An example of a simple cover all statement will be 'All rights reserved'.

Well, the best way to add the copyright symbol to a web page is to use a HTML character entity.

• Just type the character entity name, © (ampersand+copy+semi-colon) at the place where you want the copyright symbol to be.
• The other better and reliable alternative is to use the character entity number, © (ampersand+#169+semi-colon).
• Tip: take note that some browsers may not support this character entity name, so best to use the entity number, © instead.

An example of the copyright notice to be typed is : Copyright © 2009 Jacq's Blogger Tips.

And, that will give the following display : Copyright © 2009 Jacq's Blogger Tips.

Okay, next is to learn how to place the copyright notice at the bottom of your web page or blog's footer section. Blogger.com has made it so easy for us bloggers, with little or no technical knowledge.

It can be done in 2 easy ways in Blogger's Layouts feature, either via the Page Elements tab or Edit HTML tab. Choose the former which is the easier way if you do not know much about HTML.

A. Here's how-to use the Page Elements tab to add the copyright notice :

1. Go to Layout | Page Elements tab in Blogger
   
2. Click on Add a Gadget tab (choose the one at the bottom of the page for the footer). A pop-up window appears with the list of available gadgets. Select the HTML/JavaScript widget by clicking on its thumbnail or the blue + sign at the right
   
   
   
   
3. The Configure HTML/JavaScript window will appear. Type the following sample text (mustard-coloured) in the Content box as shown in the picture below:
   Copyright © 2009 Jacq's Blogger Tips. (Replace the year of publication and author's name to those of yours)
   
   
   
   
4. Click Save and then View Blog. (Take note that font-size and text alignment of your created copyright notice is already catered for by your blog's template, though you can change them if you know the relevant html codes. Just click the related Page Element gadget to edit, if so desired).

B. Or, you can use the Edit HTML tab (hehe...not for the faint-hearted!) :

1. Go to Layout tab and click on the Edit HTML sub-tab
2. This will open the Edit Template HTML for you to edit the contents of your template
3. Scroll down to the very bottom of content box. Insert the following sample text (mustard-coloured) between the footer-wrapper and outer-wrapper as seen in the image below:
   <p class='fineprint' style='text-align:center'>Copyright © 2009 Jacq's Blogger Tips.</p> (Replace the year of publication and author's name to those of yours)
   
   
   
   
4. Click the Preview tab to have a look at the result. If satisfied, click the Save Template tab. Otherwise, click the Clear Edits tab and try again, probably to amend the HTML codes of font-size and text alignment or reposition the inserted text. Then, Preview again and if still unsatisfactory, Clear Edits and try again. Finally click the Save Template tab when all is done.

I'm not an expert on HTML, but one who aspires to improve, and having tried it out on 3 of my Blogger blogs, thought it best to record my experience here so that others may benefit.

I'm delighted that having attempted to Edit HTML/Template for the purpose of adding the copyright notice/symbol, it enabled me to choose which way best suits which blog of mine. Happy too that in researching to do this article, my knowledge about copyright and html has increased in depth. :-D

Other related links:

• Copyright Notice fact sheet from UK Copyright Service. 
• FirstWriter.com - some insights on copyright protection 
• Copyright Symbol Webpage - how-to create them

Go on...add a copyright notice to your blog! It's really simple!