The Latin word Impressum (printed, from the verb imprimĕre, i.e. to print), used in German, has no exact translation in modern English. It is a legally required statement of the ownership and authorship of a document, which must be included in books, newspapers, magazines[1] and websites[2] published in Germany and other German-speaking countries.
There is no equivalent legislation in the UK or US, and therefore no consistent legal term is used in English-speaking media. The closest English terms for Impressum are:
The Telemediengesetz requires that German websites must have an Impressum disclosing information about the publisher, including their name and address, telephone number or e-mail address, trade registry number, VAT number, and other information depending on the type of company.[4][5] German websites are defined as being published by individuals or organisations that are based in Germany, so an Impressum is required regardless of whether a site is in the .de domain.
This law has created privacy concerns for individuals who maintain blogs or personal homepages.[6][7][8] The law has also caused lawyers to scrutinise websites for this page.[9][10]
The terms masthead and colophon apply to printed publications only and are not commonly used on English-language websites. 'Impressum' is sometimes translated as imprint, a word used in modern English for a brand name under which a work is published.[11]