EXIF Copyright Notice
A copyright statement, sometimes including a year, a name and a URL. It is a deliberate attribution and it is not always wanted on a shared photo.
Quick facts
| Tag ID | 0x8298 Copyright, IPTC 2:116 Copyright Notice, XMP dc:rights |
|---|---|
| Stored in | IFD0 / IPTC / XMP |
| Example value | © 2026 Jane Doe. All rights reserved. |
| Also known as | Copyright, CopyrightNotice, Rights, IPTC 2:116 |
| Privacy risk | Medium. Contains a name, business, year or contact URL. |
What the Copyright Notice tag actually means
The EXIF Copyright tag is a free-text field. The equivalent IPTC field (2:116) and the XMP dc:rights property carry the same idea in a structured location, and many editing applications write all three at once.
Why it matters
A copyright notice is a deliberate public statement of ownership. It often includes a full name and sometimes a website or email address, which is direct contact information you may not intend to publish on a casual upload.
What to do about it
Remove it if you did not intend to claim authorship publicly, or if you are uploading something under a different name. Keep it for portfolio work where you want the attribution.
Who writes this tag
Editing software presets, or manual entry in the camera or editor.
Sources and how this was verified
Tag IDs and encodings are taken from the CIPA DC-007-Translation (Exif 3.0) and ISO/IEC 21222-1 specifications. The privacy rating is our own editorial judgement, based on what each field can uniquely identify. Every entry in this reference is checked against real files produced by the cameras, phones and editors we test with.
- CIPA DC-007-Translation 2019 (Exif 3.0) — tag identifiers and IFD structure
- ISO/IEC 21222-1:2015 — data element registration
- Adobe XMP Specification (2024) — XMP packet properties
- IPTC IIM 4.2 — news/photo metadata field numbers
See our editorial and review policyfor how we test, rate and correct these entries. Found an error? Tell us.
Related EXIF tags
Fields that can contain your real name or legal entity. These are the tags that turn a photo from anonymous into attributable.
The application that last wrote the file — a camera firmware, a phone, or an editor such as Lightroom or Photoshop. It can reveal your editing workflow.
The exact moment the shutter fired, down to the second. It is one of the most revealing tags on a photo and one of the most frequently leaked.
Copyright Notice FAQ
Common questions about the EXIF copyright notice tag, its values and its privacy implications.
What is the Copyright tag used for?
It records a copyright statement associated with the image, usually a year and the rights holder. It is optional and there is no technical requirement for it to be present.
Does removing metadata remove copyright?
It removes the copyright field from the metadata. It cannot remove a watermark that is part of the visible image pixels.
Cite this reference
If you are writing about the EXIF copyright notice tag, you are welcome to link to this entry. It is maintained, versioned and reviewed on a published schedule.
“EXIF Copyright Notice (0x8298 Copyright), freexifdata.com EXIF Tag Reference, reviewed October 20, 2026.”