It’s true, the Berne Convention effectively eliminated the need to legally update your website copyright date every year in order to have your website content protected under US copyright laws.
Still, there are a few reasons why including a copyright date in your website footers – and updating it every year – is often a good idea.
Reasons To Update Website Copyright Footers:
- Authority/Trust-Building:
Copyright dates are often looked to by visitors as a trust marker to determine the credibility of a company. Early copyright dates – often founding dates – indicate a company has been around a long time and therefore is established (not likely to go out of business anytime soon), and that they are presumably also an authority in their industry. For long-standing businesses, a date range from origination to current year is often recommended. I.e.: “Copyright © 1997-2016 XYZ Company. All Rights Reserved.“
- Relevancy:
An updated copyright date can indicate to visitors that the company is providing new website content on a regular basis; staying on top of the latest developments in the industry and sharing relevant information with the public. (Which also contributes to authority/trust-building.)
- Pursuing Copyright Infringement:
While the Berne Convention provides that all works are automatically copyrighted since 1989, that only gets you the legal right to stop infringement. A copyright notice can greatly assist with efforts to pursue compensatory and punitive damages for any infringement. (Noting that for full protection in the US you might also need to register your copyright.)
Learn more about different ways to display website copyright notices in our related article: What Website Copyright Date Do I Use?
NOTE: Keep in mind that copyright laws are very complex and these generalized statements are by no means intended to indicate that your website content is blanket copyrighted under all situations for all businesses, or to be taken as legal advice. We’re marketers and designers, not attorneys, so be sure to seek legal advice from an intellectual property attorney if you have any questions about copyrights pertaining to your own individual website content!
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