A copyright notice is a statement placed on the work (for instance on a website) for the purpose of informing the public that you are the owner of the work and it should not be used without your permission. 

A copyright notice consists of three parts that generally appear as a single continuous statement:

1. The word “Copyright” or the copyright symbol “©” 
2. The year of the work’s first publication; and
3. The copyright owner’s name.

Example: © 2021 XYZ Company

You may follow this structure as a guideline:

“© [Year of works first publication] [Name of the copyright holder]”

However, you do not have to place a copyright notice on your work for it to enjoy copyright protection because a copyright does not require registration or any other formalities in Hong Kong. You will not suffer any legal consequences if you fail to display a copyright notice. 

Nevertheless, there remain good reasons for placing a copyright notice on your copyrighted work. They help to inform others who the copyright owner is and when it was first published. In case of copyright infringement, it helps to prove that the other person had knowledge of the copyright in your work, which is required to claim damages in an infringement action.

Key takeaways

• A copyright notice is a statement placed on a work’s copies or phonorecords for the purpose of informing the public that a copyright owner is claiming ownership of the work.
• While you do not have to place a copyright notice on your work for it to enjoy copyright protection in Hong Kong, there remain good reasons for placing a copyright notice on your copyrighted work.