How to Type the Copyright Symbol on Your Computer

The copyright symbol (©) is a special character commonly used by photographers and other content creators. While copyright law doesn't require its use, the symbol is easily recognizable and lends an air of credibility to intellectual property, so knowing how to type the copyright symbol on Windows and Mac can come in handy.

How to Make the Copyright Symbol

The copyright logo/symbol can be made on a Windows computer with the numerical keypad. The Alt code keyboard shortcut for the copyright symbol is Alt+0169; press and hold the Alt key while typing 0169.

For most laptops and other compressed keyboards, the process is different. Look for tiny numbers above the 7, 8, 9, U, I, O, J, K, L, and M keys. These keys act as 0 through 9 when Num Lock is activated.

Here's how to make the copyright symbol without a numerical keypad:

1. Press Fn+NumLk to turn on Num Lock.

   If this doesn't work, you may have a designated NumLK key, or it might be mapped to another key.

2. Locate the numeric keys. If you don't see the numbers on the keys, try them anyway: M=0, J=1, K=2, L=3, U=4, I=5, O=6, 7=7, 8=8, 9=9.

3. Press and hold the Alt key and type 0169 on the numeric keys (some laptops also require you to press and hold the Fn key as you type).

4. Release all the keys to see the © symbol in your text.

For Mac computers, you can make the copyright symbol with just two keystrokes: press and hold the Option key and then press the g key.

Other Options for Typing the Copyright Logo

If the keyboard shortcut seems like too much work, copy a copyright symbol from elsewhere (like this page) and paste it into your text. The © symbol is also included in the Character Map tool in Windows and the Character Viewer tool in macOS.

On a Windows PC

Here's how to get the copyright symbol from the character map tool in Windows:

1. Open the Start menu, search for map, then select Character Map.

   If you can't find Character Map, open the Run dialog box (press WIN+R) and then enter the charmap command.

2. Double-click the copyright symbol to make it appear in the Characters to copy text box, then select Copy.

3. Paste the copyright logo into any application.

On a Mac

Here's how to get the copyright symbol from the Character Viewer tool in macOS:

1. Go to the Finder menu, then select Edit > Emoji & Symbols.

   The keyboard shortcut for this menu is Control+Command+Space.

2. Go to the left panel and select Letterlike Symbols.

3. Right-click the copyright symbol, or one of the variations from the bottom right side of the window, and select Copy Character Info to add it to the clipboard.