there are two kinds of copyrights, at the bottom (the footer) and on almost every file (I haven’t checked EVERY file) inside them on the top…
How software works under GPL:
You legally CAN remove completely the footer part (like everyone will see when visiting your blog), but the actual copyright INSIDE each php file HAS TO BE KEPT…
But if you like WP, why not just keep the link, all you have to do is add target=”_blank” to the link so it opens on a new window…afterall WP IS free…I have removed the copyright at the footer but since I have forums, games, etc… different section of my site… so what I do is put a link at the bottom of my forums/games/etc… sections like this:
(C) 1990-2005 <my name> All rights Reserved
Credits
Where Credits is links to the https://www.mydomain.com/credits.html which has the credits to all the suppliers/programmers, including WP.