HTML Entity for Copyright Sign (©)

Beginner
5 min read
Updated: Sep 2026
1 example
Unicode U+00A9
HTML Entity for copyright sign (U+00A9) tutorial illustration
Definition

What Is Copyright Sign?

Copyright sign (©) is the Unicode character at U+00A9 in the Latin-1 Supplement block. It is the familiar copyright symbol used in notices such as © 2026 Company Name.

Remember
Character     ©
Unicode       U+00A9
Hex entity    ©
Decimal       ©
Named entity  © / © / &copyright;
CSS escape    \A9
Not the same  ® U+00AE · ™ U+2122

All of these produce the same glyph: ©. Prefer © or a typed © in hand-written HTML; use numeric forms when generating markup.

Reference

Quick Reference

One table for every form you will actually use.

FormCodeWhere it goes
Direct character©HTML text (UTF-8)
Named entity©, ©, or &copyright;HTML markup
Hex entity©HTML markup
Decimal entity©HTML markup
CSS escape\A9Stylesheet content

When to Use Which

SituationUse
Copyright notice in HTML© or type ©
Generated / numeric-only markup© or ©
Generated text via ::before / ::aftercontent: "\A9"
Registered trademark® U+00AE (®)
Trade mark™ U+2122 (™)
See it

Live Preview

Copyright sign rendered in common notice contexts.

Inline notice © 2026 CodeToFun
Large glyph ©
Compared ©   ®   ™
Monospace © 2026
With entities Named: © | Hex: © | Decimal: ©
Code

Complete HTML Example

One page that shows Copyright Sign with the named entity, hex entity, decimal entity, CSS escape, and a typed character. Use View Output or open the live editor.

Named + Hex + Decimal + CSS + Typed

Five ways to produce © in a single document.

html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <title>Copyright Sign (©) in HTML</title>
  <style>
    #point::after {
      content: "\A9";
    }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <p>Copyright using Named Entity: &copy;</p>
  <p>Copyright using Hex Code: &#xA9;</p>
  <p>Copyright using HTML Code: &#169;</p>
  <p id="point">Copyright using CSS Entity: </p>
  <p>Typed directly: ©</p>
</body>
</html>
Try It Yourself

How It Works

1. Named: &copy; (aliases &COPY;, &copyright;) is the HTML named reference for U+00A9 → ©.

2. Hex: U+00A9 → &#xA9; in HTML. Same glyph as the named form.

3. Decimal: same code point as 169 → &#169;. Same result as hex.

4. CSS: use \A9 in content (not an HTML entity). #point::after appends that © after the paragraph text.

5. Typed: in a UTF-8 page you can paste © directly. All five lines show the same glyph.

Pitfalls & Tips

Common mistakes when working with Copyright Sign.

Named

Prefer &copy;

&copy; is the usual named form. &COPY; and &copyright; also work in HTML5.

® / ™

Not trademark symbols

® is registered trademark. ™ is trade mark. Do not use them as a stand-in for copyright.

Legal

Symbol ≠ legal advice

Showing © marks a notice. It does not by itself create, prove, or replace a copyright registration.

CSS vs HTML

Do not mix escapes

\A9 belongs in CSS. &copy; / &#xA9; / &#169; belong in HTML.

CSS tip

Short hex escapes

In CSS, \A9 is fine when followed by a non-hex character (or use \00A9). Avoid gluing hex digits to the next token.

Semicolon

End references

Always finish with ; — write &copy; and &#169;, not bare forms.

Compatibility

Browser Support

Copyright sign (U+00A9) and its entity forms (&copy;, &#xA9;, &#169;, CSS \\A9) are supported in all mainstream browsers.

✓ Universal support

Copyright Sign (&#xA9;)

Encode with named, hex, decimal, CSS escape, or type the character — same glyph everywhere encoding is supported.

100% Browser coverage
Google Chrome Supported
Yes
Microsoft Edge Supported
Yes
Mozilla Firefox Supported
Yes
Apple Safari Supported
Yes
Opera Supported
Yes
Internet Explorer All versions
Yes
U+00A9 / entities Full support

Bottom line: Prefer &copy; or typed © in HTML. Use \\A9 only inside CSS content. Do not confuse with &reg; or &trade;.

Remember

Key Takeaways

  • Unicode: copyright sign is U+00A9 (decimal 169) — glyph ©.
  • HTML: use &copy;, &#xA9;, &#169;, or type ©.
  • CSS: use \A9 inside content for generated text.
  • Watch out: © ≠ ® ≠ ™ (copyright ≠ registered ≠ trade mark).

One line: U+00A9 → &copy; / &#169; / CSS \A9 / type ©.

Frequently Asked Questions

Use &#xA9; (hex), &#169; (decimal), &copy; (named), or the CSS escape \A9 in the content property. All render ©. You can also paste © directly when your file is UTF-8.
U+00A9 (hex A9, decimal 169). It belongs to the Latin-1 Supplement block and is the standard copyright symbol.
Yes. &copy; is the common HTML named reference (aliases include &COPY; and &copyright;). Numeric forms &#169; and &#xA9; also work.
Use it in copyright notices such as © 2026 Company Name. Prefer &copy; or a typed © in UTF-8 HTML. This symbol alone does not create or prove legal copyright.
HTML entities (&copy;, &#169;, or &#xA9;) go in markup. The CSS escape \A9 goes in stylesheet strings (usually content on ::before/::after).
© (U+00A9 / &copy;) is copyright. ® (U+00AE / &reg;) is registered trademark. ™ (U+2122 / &trade;) is trade mark. They are different legal-marking symbols.

Did you know?

Copyright sign is Unicode U+00A9 (decimal 169) — glyph © in the Latin-1 Supplement block. HTML named references include &copy;, &COPY;, and &copyright;. It marks copyright notice text. It is not registered trademark ® (U+00AE / &reg;) or trade mark ™ (U+2122 / &trade;).

Next: Corresponds To

Learn the HTML entity for corresponds to (U+2258).

Corresponds To tutorial →

About the author

Mari Selvan M P
Mari Selvan M P 🔗

Developer, cloud engineer, and technical writer

  • Experience 12 years building web and cloud systems
  • Focus Full Stack Development, AWS, and Developer Education

I write practical tutorials so students and working developers can learn by doing—from databases and APIs to deployment on AWS.

AWS Certified Developer – Associate (Credly)

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