How to Read a Pokémon Card's Copyright Line, Set Symbol and Number

Every other check on a card (holo pattern, colors, texture) is a judgment call. The footer is different: it is data. The set symbol, the card number, the rarity, the copyright line and, on newer cards, the regulation mark and set code together identify exactly which print this is supposed to be. That makes them checkable against a reference, and it makes any inconsistency between them a hard tell. This guide explains what each part means, how it changed over the years, and what fakes typically get wrong.

The parts of the footer

Depending on the era, the bottom of the front of the card carries some or all of these:

• Illustrator credit: “Illus. Mitsuhiro Arita” and the like. Present on every card since the beginning.
• Card number: “4/102” on older cards; modern cards pad it, “004/102” style, and Scarlet & Violet era English cards add a set code and language code next to it, such as “SVI EN”.
• Set symbol: a small icon unique to each expansion. The original Base Set has none; Jungle, Fossil and every set since have one.
• Rarity symbol: a circle (common), a diamond (uncommon) or a star (rare) on English cards, with extra star variants for the higher rarities of modern sets. Japanese cards use letters instead (see the Japanese cards guide).
• Regulation mark: a letter in a small box, D onwards, on cards printed since roughly 2019 to 2020. It tells tournament players which cards are legal.
• Copyright line: the tiny text naming the rights holders and the year.

The copyright line by era

The exact wording has changed several times, which is precisely what makes it useful: a counterfeiter working from a photo of one card tends to reuse the same line on cards from other eras. Two anchors you can memorize:

• Wizards of the Coast era (1999 to 2003). Base Set reads “©1995, 96, 98 Nintendo, Creatures, GAMEFREAK. ©1999 Wizards.” Note “GAMEFREAK” as one word and the separate Wizards copyright, which later WotC sets extend with a year range. Wizards is named because they held the English license at the time.
• Modern era.Since The Pokémon Company took over English printing, the line has settled into the pattern “©20XX Pokémon / Nintendo / Creatures / GAME FREAK”, with the year of the set's release and “GAME FREAK” as two words. No Wizards.

Between those anchors (the EX, Diamond & Pearl, Platinum and HeartGold SoulSilver years) the wording shifted a few times, so do not rely on memory for those: compare against a known-real card from the same set, or a card database entry with a good scan. What never changes is that the line is consistent with the set. A Base Set card that mentions “Pokémon” as a rights holder in the modern style, a 2023 card that mentions Wizards, or a year that is later than the set's release, is wrong.

How the pieces have to agree

The power of the footer is that its parts constrain each other. Check them as a set:

• Set symbol ↔ set size. The number after the slash is the size of the set the symbol names (secret rares excepted). Jungle is a 64-card set; a “Jungle” symbol next to “/102” is a fabrication.
• Set ↔ copyright year.The year in the copyright line should not be later than the set's release. Earlier is common (the line often carries the franchise dates), later is not.
• Set ↔ regulation mark.English cards before the Sword & Shield era have no regulation mark. A vintage-looking card with a letter in a box at the bottom left is mixing eras.
• Card ↔ number. Card databases list every printed card with its number. If “Charizard 4/102” is real, the database says so; if your card says “Charizard 4/102” but the artwork is from a 2016 reprint, the footer was copied from the wrong card.
• Rarity ↔ card. A common Pokémon with a star, or a holo rare marked as common, contradicts the database entry.

What fakes get wrong here

Because the footer is tiny, counterfeiters treat it as decoration. That shows in predictable ways:

• Blurry or bold small print. Real copyright lines are razor sharp at a size that is hard to reproduce on cheap presses. Under a loupe or a macro photo, fake lines look thick, fuzzy or smeared, often with letters bleeding into each other.
• Wrong or missing words.No Wizards on a WotC-era card, “GAMEFREAK” spaced wrong for the era, a year that doesn't fit, or a typo. Typos in the copyright line are common and definitive: the real line has been printed billions of times without one.
• Wrong placement. The line sits at a fixed position and size for each era. A line that is too high, too large, or shifted toward one edge is wrong.
• Copied footers. Fake “sets” are often assembled from scans of different real cards, so the footer of one card ends up on several. Ten different Pokémon that all read “4/102” is a classic sign of a fake lot.
• Numbers that don't exist. Card 250 of a 198-card set that has no secret rares, or a set code that was never printed.

How to photograph the footer

The footer only helps if you can read it. Shoot it straight on, in diffuse light (no lamp reflecting off the bottom edge), as close as your phone will focus. A macro shot of just the bottom centimeter of the card is more useful than a full-card photo for this check. If you are using the checker, that is exactly what the optional third, close-up photo is for; the eight checks guide covers how the footer fits with the rest.

The one-minute version

1. Read the set symbol, number and copyright line with a loupe or macro photo.
2. Base Set: no symbol is correct. Any other set: the symbol must exist and match.
3. Set size after the slash matches the set; secret rares may exceed it.
4. Copyright wording and year fit the era; Wizards only on 1999 to 2003 cards.
5. Small print is sharp, not bold or blurry. If it isn't, stop trusting the card.

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