copyrightStart

Type: number Default: year of publishDate

The first year of the copyright period. When a spec has been developed over multiple years, use this to show a copyright range (e.g., "Copyright © 2018–2025").

Basic usage

var respecConfig = {
  copyrightStart: 2018,
  publishDate: "2025-06-01",
  // Results in: "Copyright © 2018-2025 W3C®"
};

Notes

• If copyrightStart equals the publishDate year, it has no effect (year range is suppressed)
• Safe to always set — if it matches the publish year, ReSpec ignores it
• Use the year the spec work first began, not when the first draft was published