Copyright notices & Online Platform

I agree with Adam's response. The copyright notice is not required by law, but it does not hurt and is a good idea. It simply puts viewers on notice of the copyrights. But these days, every person must assume that materials are under copyright protection unless they have confirmed otherwise. Of course, anyone can decide to misappropriate your copyrighted material, and it will be up to you to enforce your rights. Of particular importance is the fact that you must have a registered copyright in order to pursue a copyright infringement claim in court (although you still might be able to pursue an unfair competition claim etc.).

In the United States, copyright protection immediately attaches to an original work of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. The "look and feel" of a website may qualify for copyright protection and, as such, website operators routinely put copyright notices (i.e., the ©) to put visitors on notice of the fact that the website operator is claiming whatever copyright interests exist in the website. The additional pragmatic protection having a copyright notice on the website could theoretically provide is that it make facilitate establishing willfulness to a claim of infringement (and negating a defense of "innocent infringement.") As such, providing such notices is generally advisable.

A copyright notice does not preclude pirating and there is a small number of would-be pirates who, while initially intending to infringe your copyright interests, would refrain from doing so after seeing the notice for the reasons stated above. Further, merely placing a copyright notice, or claiming copyright protection to some content, does not prevent another's infringement claims; it is the role of the courts to decide whether a subsequent use is infringing or not.

Copyright and related web transactional matters (e.g., a terms of service, privacy policy) are to be carefully considered. You should consult an IP attorney in private to review your web and IP strategy.