Can i use the copyright and trademark symbols on a personal website without having to pay for registration?
By Yahoo User • Category: Trademarks RegistrationDoes it violate any kind of law to use them without paying a registration fee with the govt ?
You can make people believe that you have a copyright that way however this copyright is not backed and it cannot be protected. Therefore, you can lower your chances of people taking your stuff but if they do steal it, you can’t do anything about it…
I don’t think you can. I like to design webpages myself and I would’nt risk it if I were you. Some companies get really POed over someone using their symbol or trademark without permission.
Do you mean the circle C & TM symbols? If so, there should be no problem with you using them. However, they “may be governed by local, state, or foreign laws and the laws of the pertinent jurisdiction must be consulted.”The circle R symbol should only be used once Federal registration is obtained through the USPTO.
I’m not a lawyer. This is not legal advice. Consult a lawyer for specifics. Regarding copyright symbol - circle-C: No, it doesn’t violate any law to use it without registration. Every original artwork (visual, language, music, perhaps even genetic and a few other media I know nothing about) you create is protected by copyright law from the moment of creation, regardless of whether you register it with the copyright office. However enforcement is easier, and civil penalties for infringement are higher, if you have registered prior to any act of infringement… …Unless you expressly relinquish some or all of your intellectual property rights by writing: “This work is in the public domain,” or “This work is protected by Creative Commons Deed 2.5 (or whatever version is current).”Professor Lawrence Lessig of Stanford Law School is worth reading; his blog is listed below. Trademark? Check out the USPTO website in an earlier answer.