Free Copyright Notice Template (UK)

What is this document?

A copyright notice is a legal statement published on your website that asserts your ownership of the original content, design, code, images, and other creative works displayed on the site. It informs visitors of their rights and restrictions when it comes to using your material, and it sets out the terms under which limited use may be permitted.

Who needs it?

Any business, organisation, or individual that publishes original content on a website. This includes company websites, blogs, portfolios, online publications, e-commerce sites, and any other site that contains text, images, graphics, videos, software, or other creative works. If you create or commission original material for your website, a copyright notice helps protect it.

Why is it important?

Under UK law, copyright arises automatically when an original work is created — you do not need to register it. However, publishing a clear copyright notice serves several important purposes. It puts visitors on notice that your content is protected, it deters unauthorised copying, it makes it easier to prove ownership in any dispute, and it establishes the terms on which visitors may (or may not) use your material. A well-drafted copyright notice also addresses modern concerns such as data mining and AI training, where third parties may attempt to scrape and use your content to train machine learning models.

Key UK legislation

Template document

Copyright Notice

This copyright notice applies to the website at [your website URL] (the "Website"), which is owned and operated by [your full legal company name] ("we", "us", or "our"), a company registered in [England / England and Wales / Scotland / Northern Ireland] under company number [company registration number], whose registered office is at [registered office address].

This notice was last updated on [date].

1. Ownership of copyright

1.1 Unless otherwise stated, we are the owner or licensee of all intellectual property rights in this Website and in the material published on it. This includes, but is not limited to, all text, articles, blog posts, guides, graphics, images, photographs, illustrations, icons, logos, page layouts, visual designs, user interface elements, audio, video, software, source code, and compilations of data and content.

1.2 These works are protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (the "CDPA 1988") and by international copyright treaties to which the United Kingdom is a party, including the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.

1.3 All rights are reserved. No part of this Website may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) except as expressly permitted by this notice, by separate written agreement with us, or as permitted by applicable law.

1.4 The copyright in individual articles, images, or other materials contributed by third parties remains with the respective authors or rights holders. Such materials are published on our Website with permission or under licence, and the restrictions in this notice apply equally to those materials unless otherwise indicated.

1.5 Our trade marks, service marks, trade names, and logos displayed on this Website are our registered or unregistered trade marks. Nothing in this notice or on this Website grants any licence or right to use any of our trade marks without our prior written consent.

2. Copyright licence

2.1 Subject to the restrictions set out in this notice, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to:

(a) view, download, and temporarily cache pages from the Website in a web browser for your own personal, non-commercial use;

(b) print single copies of pages from the Website for your own personal, non-commercial reference, provided that you do not modify the content and that all copyright notices and attributions are retained; and

(c) share links to pages on the Website, provided that you do so in a way that is fair and legal and does not damage our reputation or take advantage of it.

2.2 The licence granted in clause 2.1 does not permit you to:

(a) republish, redistribute, or make available any material from this Website (including by republishing on another website, in an application, or through an online service) without our prior written consent;

(b) sell, rent, sub-license, or otherwise commercially exploit any material from this Website;

(c) edit, modify, adapt, translate, or create derivative works based on any material from this Website, except to the extent necessary for personal viewing in a web browser (for example, screen rendering and caching);

(d) systematically copy or download material from this Website for the purpose of creating or compiling, directly or indirectly, a collection, compilation, database, or directory, whether by manual methods, automated bots, web scrapers, or otherwise; or

(e) use any material from this Website in any manner that infringes our intellectual property rights or the rights of any third party.

2.3 We may revoke the licence granted in clause 2.1 at any time and for any reason by publishing a notice on this Website or by contacting you directly.

3. Data mining and AI training

3.1 You must not use any content from this Website for the purposes of text mining, data mining, data analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence training, or any similar computational analysis, except as expressly permitted by this notice or by applicable law.

3.2 In accordance with sections 29A and 30A of the CDPA 1988, as may be amended or supplemented by subsequent legislation, we expressly reserve all rights in our content for the purposes of text and data mining. This notice constitutes a machine-readable and human-readable reservation of rights for the purposes of any applicable opt-out or reservation mechanism under UK copyright law.

3.3 The restrictions in this clause apply to all automated systems, including but not limited to web crawlers, bots, spiders, scrapers, large language models, generative AI systems, and any other technologies that access, index, download, analyse, or otherwise process content from this Website for the purposes described in clause 3.1.

3.4 Our robots.txt file and any technical access controls we implement form part of our reservation of rights under this clause. You must comply with our robots.txt directives and any other access restrictions we implement.

3.5 If you wish to use our content for text mining, data mining, AI training, or any similar purpose, you must obtain our prior written consent. Requests should be directed to [your email address].

4. Permissions

4.1 If you wish to use any material from this Website in a manner that is not permitted by the licence in Section 2, you must obtain our prior written permission.

4.2 To request permission, please contact us at [your email address] with the following information:

(a) your full name and the name of your organisation (if applicable);

(b) a precise description of the material you wish to use, including the page URL where it appears;

(d) the medium in which the material will be used (for example, a website, printed publication, presentation, or broadcast);

(e) the geographic scope and duration of the proposed use; and

(f) details of any modification you wish to make to the material.

4.3 We will endeavour to respond to permission requests within [14] Business Days. We reserve the right to grant or refuse permission at our sole discretion and to impose conditions on any permission we grant, including requirements for attribution, payment of a licence fee, or restrictions on the scope of use.

4.4 Permission granted for a specific use does not extend to any other use. A separate request must be made for each proposed use.

4.5 Nothing in this notice constitutes or shall be construed as an offer to license any intellectual property rights. Any licence granted by us will be set out in a separate written agreement.

5. Enforcement of copyright

5.1 We actively monitor the internet for unauthorised use of our copyrighted material and take infringement of our intellectual property rights seriously.

5.2 If we discover or are made aware of any unauthorised use of our material, we reserve the right to take such action as we consider appropriate, which may include:

(a) sending a cease and desist notice requiring the immediate removal of the infringing material;

(b) issuing a takedown notice under the relevant notice-and-takedown procedures applicable to the hosting platform or internet service provider;

(d) claiming damages, an account of profits, and additional damages for flagrant infringement under section 97 of the CDPA 1988; and

(e) reporting the infringement to the relevant authorities where criminal offences under the CDPA 1988 may have been committed.

5.3 Under sections 96 to 100 of the CDPA 1988, a copyright owner has the right to bring civil proceedings for infringement, and under sections 107 to 110, certain acts of copyright infringement constitute criminal offences punishable by fines and imprisonment.

5.4 The costs of enforcement, including legal costs, may be recoverable from the infringer under the Intellectual Property (Enforcement, etc.) Regulations 2006 and the Civil Procedure Rules.

6. Infringing material

6.1 If you believe that any material published on our Website infringes your copyright or other intellectual property rights, please notify us promptly by contacting us at [your email address].

6.2 Your notification should include:

(a) your full name and contact details;

(b) a description of the copyrighted work that you believe has been infringed;

(d) a statement explaining why you believe the material infringes your rights;

(e) evidence of your ownership of the copyright or your authority to act on behalf of the copyright owner; and

(f) a statement that you have a good faith belief that the use of the material is not authorised by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law, and that the information in your notification is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or are authorised to act on the copyright owner's behalf.

6.3 Upon receiving a valid notification of alleged infringement, we will investigate the matter and take such action as we consider appropriate, which may include removing or disabling access to the material in question.

6.4 We reserve the right to request additional information or evidence before taking any action. We will endeavour to respond to all valid notifications within a reasonable time.

6.5 This procedure is without prejudice to your legal rights under the CDPA 1988 or any other applicable law.

7. Exceptions and limitations

7.1 Nothing in this notice is intended to restrict any use of our material that is permitted under the exceptions and limitations to copyright set out in the CDPA 1988, including but not limited to:

(a) fair dealing for the purposes of research and private study (section 29);

(b) fair dealing for the purposes of criticism, review, or quotation (section 30), provided that sufficient acknowledgement is given;

(d) incidental inclusion of copyright material (section 31); and

(e) any other exception or limitation applicable under UK copyright law.

7.2 Where you rely on a statutory exception, you must comply with all applicable conditions, including any requirement to provide sufficient acknowledgement of the source and author.

8. Contact us

8.1 If you have any questions about this copyright notice, wish to request permission to use our material, or wish to report an infringement, please contact us:

(a) By post: [your postal address]

(b) By email: [your email address]

(d) Through our website: [your contact page URL]

8.2 This copyright notice is governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. Any dispute arising under or in connection with this notice shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

This document was created using a template from website-contracts.co.uk.

Clause-by-clause guide

Plain English explanations of the key sections.

This section establishes your ownership of the intellectual property on your website. Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, copyright arises automatically when an original literary, dramatic, musical, or artistic work is created and recorded in a material form — no registration is required in the UK. The first owner of copyright is generally the author, except where the work is created by an employee in the course of employment (in which case the employer is the first owner under section 11(2) of the CDPA 1988). If you have commissioned freelancers or agencies to create content, images, or code for your website, copyright will belong to them unless you have a written assignment. You should ensure that all commissioned work is properly assigned to you in writing before asserting ownership in this notice.

This section grants visitors a limited licence to view and print your content for personal, non-commercial use. Without this licence, even viewing your website in a browser could technically involve making a copy (as the browser downloads and caches the page). The licence is deliberately narrow — it does not permit republication, redistribution, commercial exploitation, or systematic downloading. It is revocable, meaning you can withdraw it at any time. If you want to allow broader use of your content (for example, under a Creative Commons licence), you should replace or supplement this section with the appropriate licence terms. Conversely, if your content is particularly sensitive or valuable, you may wish to narrow the licence further.

This is an increasingly important section in light of the rapid growth of generative AI and large language models. Many AI companies use web scrapers to collect content from websites for training their models, often without permission. Under the CDPA 1988, there is a text and data mining exception for non-commercial research (section 29A), but the UK government has been considering broader exceptions and opt-out mechanisms. This clause expressly reserves your rights and opts out of any text and data mining use. It also references robots.txt as part of your technical opt-out. While the legal enforceability of these restrictions against all AI companies remains an evolving area, including them establishes a clear record of your position and strengthens any future infringement claim.

This section sets out the remedies available to you if your copyright is infringed. Under the CDPA 1988, a copyright owner can bring civil proceedings for infringement and seek damages, an injunction, an account of profits, and delivery up of infringing copies. Section 97(2) provides for additional damages for flagrant infringement. Certain acts of infringement are also criminal offences under sections 107 to 110, punishable by fines and up to 10 years' imprisonment. The Intellectual Property (Enforcement, etc.) Regulations 2006 implement the EU Enforcement Directive and provide additional remedies. While this clause cannot create rights beyond those provided by statute, it puts visitors on clear notice that you will enforce your rights and deters casual infringement.

This section provides a procedure for third parties to notify you if they believe material on your website infringes their copyright. While the UK does not have a statutory notice-and-takedown regime equivalent to the US DMCA, it is good practice to provide a clear complaints procedure. If you host user-generated content, the E-Commerce Regulations 2002 (as retained in UK law) provide a defence for hosting providers who act expeditiously to remove infringing material upon obtaining actual knowledge. Even if your website does not host user-generated content, this section demonstrates good faith and responsible behaviour, which can be relevant in any dispute.

Frequently asked questions

No. Unlike patents and trade marks, copyright in the UK arises automatically when an original work is created and recorded in a material form. There is no registration system for copyright in the UK. The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 provides that copyright subsists in original literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, sound recordings, films, broadcasts, and typographical arrangements of published editions as soon as they are created. While some countries (notably the United States) have copyright registration systems that provide additional benefits, no such system exists in the UK. However, publishing a copyright notice on your website, keeping records of when you created your work, and retaining drafts and earlier versions can all help establish ownership and the date of creation if a dispute arises.

The duration of copyright depends on the type of work. For literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works (which covers most website content, including text, articles, photographs, illustrations, and graphic designs), copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the author died. For typographical arrangements of published editions, copyright lasts for 25 years from the end of the year of first publication. For sound recordings and broadcasts, different terms apply. For works created by employees in the course of employment, the employer is the first owner but the duration is still measured from the death of the individual author. These durations are set out in sections 12 to 15A of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

This is a rapidly evolving area of law. Under the current CDPA 1988, there is a text and data mining exception for non-commercial research (section 29A), but there is no general exception for commercial AI training. This means that using your content to train a commercial AI model without your permission is likely to constitute copyright infringement. However, enforcement against large AI companies can be practically difficult, particularly where the training data was collected from many sources. Including an express reservation of rights in your copyright notice (as this template does in Section 3), implementing robots.txt directives to block AI crawlers, and using any available technical opt-out mechanisms all strengthen your position. The UK government has been consulting on potential legislative changes in this area, so the legal landscape may change.

A copyright notice relates to original creative works such as text, images, designs, code, and other content. It asserts your ownership of copyright under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. A trade mark notice, on the other hand, relates to your brand identifiers — names, logos, slogans, and other signs that distinguish your goods or services from those of other businesses. Trade marks can be registered (with the UK Intellectual Property Office) or unregistered. A registered trade mark is indicated by the symbol, while an unregistered trade mark may be indicated by the TM symbol. Your website may need both a copyright notice (for content) and a trade mark notice or statement (for your brand). This template focuses on copyright but includes a brief reference to trade marks in Section 1.

If you discover that someone has copied content from your website without permission, you have several options. First, gather evidence of the infringement by taking screenshots, saving cached pages, and recording URLs and dates. Then, send a cease and desist letter to the infringer, clearly identifying the copyrighted material, the infringing use, and demanding that the material be removed within a specified timeframe. If the material is hosted on a third-party platform, you can submit a takedown notice to the hosting provider. If the infringer does not comply, you can instruct a solicitor to take further action, which may include issuing court proceedings for an injunction and damages under the CDPA 1988. The Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) in England and Wales is specifically designed to handle smaller intellectual property disputes in a proportionate and cost-effective manner.