How visible does a website's terms of use, privacy policy and copyright info need to be, to be valid?

I wouldn't ever link to t&c from the logo. It should also ways be a text link describing what they are going to read. No one wants to read them but they like to know they are there. especially Google. If you are doing adwords, you absolutely MUST have a privacy policy link on your page - ideally close to the email field if you have a form. Copyright isn't relevant, unless you care about people copying your content - but really those days are over. It's time people embraced producing exceptional content and just letting it flow out there. You'll get a much wider reach (harder to measure), but people will like that you are openly willing to share your info/data. Back to visibility. Stick the privacy policy near the form or in the footer. If you are running a contest - have terms and conditions either in the footer or wherever your are describing the rules. Interaction-wise, I'd suggest a lightbox style popup for the details to keep people on your page and engaged in your conversion goal. Hope that helps. Feel free to ask for more info.

Privacy Policies and the Clear and Conspicuous Rule There still is confusion about the posting requirements for website privacy policies and other documents. I hope following information helps clarify what is required for you to comply with the law. The following applies to almost all state and federal laws about posting privacy policies and disclaimers. That the wording is “clear and conspicuous,” without defining precisely what that is. However, the common definition given by most state and federal regulatory agencies is the language in the body of a form is “conspicuous” if it is in larger or other contrasting type or color.” At a minimum, it should be at least the same size font as the surrounding text. The California Business and Professions Code 22575 have several legal requirements for posting a privacy policy on a website (a) An operator of a commercial Web site or online service that collects personally identifiable information through the Internet about individual consumers residing in California who use or visit its commercial Web site or online service shall conspicuously post its privacy policy on its Web site. (b) The term “conspicuously post” with respect to a privacy policy shall include posting the privacy policy through any of the following: (1) A Web page on which the actual privacy policy is posted if the Web page is the homepage or first significant page after entering the Web site. (2) An icon that hyperlinks to a Web page on which the actual privacy policy is posted, if the icon is located on the homepage or the first significant page after entering the Web site, and if the icon contains the word “privacy.” The icon shall also use a color that contrasts with the background color of the Web page or is otherwise distinguishable. (3) A text link that hyperlinks to a Web page on which the actual privacy policy is posted, if the text link is located on the homepage or first significant page after entering the Web site, and if the text link does one of the following: (A) Includes the word “privacy.” (B) Is written in capital letters equal to or greater in size than the surrounding text. (C) Is written in larger type than the surrounding text, or in contrasting type, font, or color to the surrounding text of the same size, or set off from the surrounding text of the same size by symbols or other marks that call attention to the language. (4) Any other functional hyperlink that is so displayed that a reasonable person would notice it. This California law applies to other states If California residents can interact with your website, these privacy policy requirements and California law AB 370 will apply to you no matter what state you live in. Terms and conditions and case law When trying to determine what constitutes posting your website documents in a “clear and conspicuous” manner, consider this: What is the likelihood of a visitor to your website seeing your privacy policy, terms and conditions or disclaimer? Aside from the above information, case law would seem to indicate that any link to your privacy policy and terms and conditions that is above the fold of the page, so there is no need to scroll down “would appear” but not always to satisfy the “clear and conspicuous” rule.  Although most businesses and people put their website policies and agreements in the footer of their website in a smaller font, this is a poor place to put them and may provide you with little or no legal protection. Get your users and customers to agree Getting your users to agree to your policies and terms and conditions by having them check a box or click a button that they have read and understood them upon entering your website is ideal. This will significantly increase the chances of your policies being enforced. For free compliance guides and information about the legal requirements for privacy policies see:  http://www.disclaimertemplate.com/are-website-privacy-policies-required-by-law/   This answer does not constitute legal advice and is not a substitute for legal advice. Almost all the above information comes from state, federal or case law.

I'm not an attorney, so this should not be construed as legal advice, but I suspect the level of visibility required depends on the type of information covered in the policy. Google recommends putting it in the footer. In your case you might consider putting it as a link within your site's About section if you have one. It should be someplace that users can easily find it. If all users might sign up you might want to include the link in their settings or profile page. Either way I would not put it in the logo. Many sites have the logo link to the homepage, so users who click that would not expect this behavior. It would likely confuse them to fin the TOS pop-up when they thought they would be taken to the home page.

Where is our target audience located?  In reality, it will ultimately depend on each specific country's laws and regulations.  In general, though, the rationale behind consumer laws worldwide are pretty much as Mitch described.  It needs to show good faith and transparency, and in order to show that, you need the T&C to be fairly informative and for users to be able to find them easily.

The laws are pretty generic on the topic, but for sure the link to TOS and PP should be "prominent", which is a very subjective standard, but usually means not more than a click away. The industry standard practice puts the links in the footer (so that they can be visible on every page). I would't normally think to click on the logo, so this may cause problems. However, it also depends of what kind of service you provide. If your users can't do much without signing up, and thus having to explicitly agree to the TOS, maybe you can get away with it.This answer is not a substitute for professional legal advice,...