How to add a copyright page to the report class.

I prefer to add the "second page" automatically. This keeps the author interface clean.

I simply define a macro \def\secondpage

which I add to the \maketitle macro using \g@addto@macro.

When the author inserts the command \maketitle, it will also typeset the copyright page. Here is the code:

\documentclass{report}
\usepackage{fancyhdr}
\def\secondpage{\clearpage\null\vfill
\pagestyle{empty}
\begin{minipage}[b]{0.9\textwidth}
\footnotesize\raggedright
\setlength{\parskip}{0.5\baselineskip}
Copyright \copyright 2010--\the\year\ Dr Salty Pen\par
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and\slash or modify 
this document under the terms of the GNU \ldots. 
\end{minipage}
\vspace*{2\baselineskip}
\cleardoublepage
\rfoot{\thepage}}

\makeatletter
\g@addto@macro{\maketitle}{\secondpage}
\makeatother

You can use \null\vfill to flush the copyright or any other text to the bottom of the page. A manual \newpage or \clearpage must follow.

\documentclass{report}

\author{John Doe}
\title{Example}

\begin{document}
\maketitle

\null\vfill
\noindent
Copyright 2010 -- Example Cooperation\\
Some text ...
\newpage

\chapter{Introduction}
...

\end{document}

Take a look at the scrreprt class from KOMA-Script which replaces the standard report class. It has an extended \maketitle command which explicitly accommodates the creation of additional pages in the title, e.g. for a copyright notice.

Essentially, the two commands \uppertitleback and \lowertitleback can be set appropriately. They may contain arbitrarily complex text, in particular they may also contain multiple paragraphs.

For instance:

\title{Whatever tickles your fancy}
\author{You}

\uppertitleback{%
  Copyright 2011 by Oompa Loompas of science

  \noindent
  Do not try this at home and use at your own risk!}

\begin{document}
\maketitle

…
\end{document}

Be sure to read the KOMA documentation, section 3.3. where you’ll find more information.