Copy © or ℗ from the panel above. In Word, Microsoft documents typing (c) for © and holding Alt while entering 0169 on a numeric keypad; Character Viewer on Mac and the Google Docs picker need no shortcut.
Both signs are ordinary Unicode text characters, so they survive copying between apps, files, and source code. The keystrokes (c) are not a character but an AutoCorrect replacement, so they stay literal in a plain editor.
Identify the copyright sign
The copyright sign is ©, named COPYRIGHT SIGN by Unicode and assigned U+00A9 in Latin-1 Supplement. The sound recording sign is ℗, named SOUND RECORDING COPYRIGHT and assigned U+2117 in Letterlike Symbols, where phonorecord sign is listed as an alias.
Circled letters that look similar are separate characters. Ⓒ is CIRCLED LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C at U+24B8 and Ⓟ is CIRCLED LATIN CAPITAL LETTER P at U+24C5, while ® is REGISTERED SIGN at U+00AE and ™ is TRADE MARK SIGN at U+2122. As plain text, (c) is the three characters U+0028, U+0063, and U+0029.
Product packaging usually pairs a copyright notice with a trademark symbol for the brand name, and the statutes behind both notices are cited with the section sign.
Form a copyright notice
The U.S. Copyright Office describes a notice as three elements in one continuous statement. They are the symbol © (or ℗ for phonorecords), the word copyright, or the abbreviation copr.; then the year of first publication; then the name of the copyright owner. Circular 3 gives © 2017 John Doe as its example.
The circular also states that notice is optional for works published on or after March 1, 1989, for unpublished works, and for foreign works, and that it was required before that date.
Insert © in Microsoft Word
Microsoft's Word shortcut reference lists the copyright symbol under inserting special characters as the sequence (, C, ), so typing (c) produces © while Replace text as you type is on. The same list gives Ctrl-Alt-R for ® and Ctrl-Alt-T for ™.
Microsoft's legal symbols table lists ALT+0169 for © next to ALT+0174 for ® and ALT+0153 for ™, and it calls for the numeric keypad rather than the top number row, with Num Lock on if the keyboard needs it. For a Unicode value, type the code and press Alt and X, so 00A9 becomes © and 2117 becomes ℗.
Copy © with Windows Character Map
Microsoft describes Character Map as a program built into Windows that shows the characters available in a selected font. Open it, choose a font that contains the sign, select © or ℗, and copy it. The route needs neither AutoCorrect nor a keypad.
Insert © with Mac Character Viewer
Apple documents opening Character Viewer with the Fn or Globe key and E, or through Edit and then Emoji & Symbols. It has a search field, so entering copyright finds both signs and selecting one inserts it.
Insert © in Google Docs or Slides
In Google Docs or Slides, choose Insert, Symbols, and Special characters, then pick a category, draw the sign, or enter its Unicode value. Google states that Sheets cannot insert special characters directly, so copy one into the cell instead.
Use the copyright sign in HTML
A UTF-8 page can contain © and ℗ directly. HTML defines © for U+00A9 and ℗ for U+2117, plus the numeric forms © or © for © and ℗ or ℗ for ℗. Keep the closing semicolon and the case the standard lists.
Fix the wrong output
- 1.Verify that the character is U+00A9 rather than U+24B8, or U+2117 rather than U+24C5.
- 2.Use a 10-key numeric pad with Num Lock on for Alt-0169, since the top number row does not stand in for it.
- 3.Select or clear Replace text as you type in Word's AutoCorrect options to control whether (c) converts.
- 4.Fall back to Character Map or Character Viewer in apps that ignore Word shortcuts.
- 5.Save the file with a Unicode encoding, since both signs sit outside ASCII, and expect HTML references to stay literal in a plain-text field.
Common questions
Are © and Ⓒ the same character?
No. © is COPYRIGHT SIGN at U+00A9 and Ⓒ is CIRCLED LATIN CAPITAL LETTER C at U+24B8, so a search for one does not match the other.
When does a notice use ℗ instead of ©?
The Copyright Office describes ℗ as the symbol for the notice on phonorecords that embody a sound recording, while © appears on visually perceptible copies such as a book.
Why does Word turn (c) into ©?
AutoCorrect performs it while Replace text as you type is selected on the AutoCorrect tab, which Word opens through File, Options, and Proofing.
