In order to better protect your original work, it is highly suggested that you announce to the world that it is yours. Here are five simple steps explaining how to write a proper copyright notice.
First of all, the moment that you create an original work, it is automatically copyritten in your name. This is due to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works that the United States joined in 1989. The Berne Convention contrasts the Anglo-Saxon philosophy of copyright which only accounted for economic concerns. Instead it was influenced by the French phrase, droit d'auteur, which means "right of the author." So the first step in writing a proper copyright notice is to simply create an original work!
The second step is to declare your rights with the official seal of the copyright office. This is a familiar symbol to most, and it resembles the letter "c" with a circle around it. One way to re-create this symbol online is to copy and paste it from another page, but if you do not have access to the internet or the concept of copy/paste is alien to you, the letter "c" enclosed in parenthesis works just as fine: (c)
After the copyright seal, it is important to include the date of original publication. Try to be as precise as possible. If your work is registered with the US Copyright Office, then make sure that your dates match up to the dates they have on record.
So you have the copyright seal, date of publication, and now you are going to include your name. Again, make sure that it is the same name that the US Copyright Office has on file. If you change your name, be sure to use your original name in your copyright notices until the US Copyright Office is notified.
Finally, at the very end you add the phrase "All rights reserved." This lets people know that you own all of the rights to your publication and that you reserve the right to refuse them copying privileges.
Your final product will resemble something like this:
