copyright
What does copyright mean?
The ©️ copyright emoji depicts the classic symbol of a capital "C" enclosed within a circle. Universally recognized as the global marker for intellectual property, this emoji indicates that a piece of original work—whether it be writing, art, music, or software—is legally protected and owned by its creator. It serves as a visual shorthand for authorship, legal rights, and creative protection in digital spaces. In everyday digital communication, the ©️ emoji frequently appears in social media bios, photo captions, and video descriptions to credit original artists or warn against plagiarism. Content creators often place it next to their usernames or watermarks to establish ownership of their memes, photography, or brand slogans, ensuring they receive proper recognition when their content is shared across the internet.
Slang & Modern Usage
In internet slang, the ©️ emoji is frequently used ironically to "claim ownership" over everyday behaviors, hyper-specific moods, or popular catchphrases. Social media users will slap the copyright symbol onto a dramatic statement or a viral joke to humorously pretend they invented it, such as tweeting "Staying in bed all weekend ©️" or "Being delusional ©️." It adds a layer of sarcasm, implying that their personal brand is so heavily tied to a specific aesthetic or feeling that they hold the legal rights to it. Additionally, the copyright emoji is often deployed in the comments section to call out meme theft or stolen jokes. When a large account reposts viral content without credit, users might drop a simple "©️?" or pair it with the police car emoji to playfully (or seriously) act as the "joke police" and demand justice for the original poster.
Emoji Combos
Platform Differences
On Apple, the emoji is rendered as a white 'C' inside a dark grey or black circle. Google features a blue circle with a white 'C', while Microsoft and Twitter display it as a simple, flat outline.
Technical Information
| Unicode | U+00A9 |
| HTML Entity | © |
| CSS | \00A9 |
| JavaScript | \u{00A9} |
| Unicode Version | Unicode 0.6 |
| Status | Fully-qualified |