I remember back then while I was still growing up, whenever we watched a new Nollywood movie, one of the unskippable intro pages would say “All rights reserved”. Same with books and novels; whenever I pick up a book to read I will see one of the early pages say “All Rights Reserved”.
With a childlike curiosity, I kept wondering and asking what the phrase “All rights reserved” meant. Not until I became a lawyer did I fully understand and appreciate what the phrase “All rights reserved” meant in its full legal context.
In layman’s terms; All Rights Reserved is an intellectual property protection that an author or a movie maker inscribed on his work as a disclaimer so as to ensure that the work is not copied, reproduced, distributed or dubbed without his consent or authorization. It simply means that the creator of the work has a copyright over the work.
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All rights reserved explained in a legal or intellectual property protection context means that the owner or creator of a work, such as content, intellectual property, or a product, retains exclusive rights and does not grant permission for others to use, copy, or distribute it without explicit authorization. This means that no one may use your work unless they obtain your explicit authorization or permission.
Although this statement is not legally required nor is it a thing of necessity and failure to include it has no legal implication and does not rob the creator of the copyright he enjoys on his work, but authors and creators rather include the phrase on their work because just as it is said that “it is better to err on the side of caution”.
So when it is not written as All Rights Reserved a copyright disclaimer issued by a creator over his work can be written in any of the following formats or styles;
- the copyright symbol “©” affixed only
- The name of the author or the creator of the work. It can also be the name of an organization, a business, or a corporate name affixed on the work to show ownership
- The current year or year range in which the work was created
- a statement of ownership (“All Rights Reserved”).
For example, if I want to issue a disclaimer over this article written in October 2023 as the publisher; I would notify others of the copyright by placing one of the following notations at the end of the article if it is a book it will be affixed on all the published copies of the book:
- © October 2023 Stan Alieke
- Copyright 2023 Stan Alieke
- Copr. 2023 Stan Alieke
- All Rights Reserved Stan Alieke 2023
Please note that not adding this disclaimer or the All Rights Reserved phrase does not and will not in any way rob me of the copyright I ought to have enjoyed over the work as the creator.