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Copyright DurationsThe summary below is provided for informational purposes only, and does not constitute legal advice. Any specific question about copyright law should be directed to an attorney in our Copyright Practice Group. General Framework The general framework for understanding statutory copyright duration involves the change of law effective January 1, 1978 (the 1976 Copyright Act). Under the prior law (the 1909 Act) the copyright term began on the date of publication or registration, and originally lasted 28 years; a series of laws, culminating in the Sonny Bono Term Extension Act of 1998, extended the term to a maximum, for some works, of 95 years from publication. The Supreme Court has agreed to review the constitutionality of the 1998 Act. Eldred v. Ashcroft, No. 01-618, 2002 WL 232898 (2002), amended by 2002 WL 257111. Under the 1976 Act, as amended by the 1998 Act, the copyright term for works created on or after January 1, 1978 begins on the date of creation and ends 70 years after the author's death, 95 years from publication, or 120 years from creation (depending on the nature of the work, its authorship, and its date of publication). This term also applies to works created but not published or registered before January 1, 1978. In addition, the 1976 Act, as amended, provides these works with a minimum term until the end of this year (2002); the term is extended, if the work is published by the end of this year, through 2047. We have prepared a flow chart setting forth some general guidelines regarding the duration of United States federal statutory copyright. There are a number of exceptions to these guidelines. In most cases, these exceptions may involve expiration prior to the theoretical date indicated. However, in some cases, copyright protection may continue past the indicated date. Dates of Note Use of the flow chart will reveal the following categories of works that have already entered the public domain:
In the next twenty years, the following categories of works will be entering the public domain:
Copyright Investigation Our attorneys can obtain information concerning copyright registrations and renewals for particular works. In some cases, we use the U.S. Copyright Office web site (discussed below); in others, we use a professional copyright search firm. We can also obtain listings of assignments, licenses, liens and mortgages and other documents recorded with the U.S. Copyright Office. Information including copyright registrations and renewals dated January 1, 1978 and later can be researched at no charge on-line, at the U.S. Copyright Office internet web site at www.loc.gov/copyright. (The web site also includes useful information on a variety of copyright-related topics, including copyright duration. The Copyright Office offers circulars, some available on-line and others available on request, on particular topics.) Information concerning registrations and renewals between 1891 and 1982 is available in the Catalog of Copyright Entries ("CCE"), published by the Copyright Office. A number of libraries maintain copies of the CCE. The Boston Public Library has a set, although a number of volumes have been damaged and are available only on microfiche. The CCE does not include information concerning assignments or other recorded documents, or the addresses of copyright claimants. Most Copyright Office records are available to the public at the Library of Congress. In addition, the Copyright Office will search its records for you at an hourly rate of $65, which includes the search and a typewritten or oral report. Foreign Rights and Works The flow chart concerns only U.S. copyright law. Copyright in a work can expire under U.S. law, but remain valid under the law of another country. Thus, if you make use of a work in another country or on the Internet you may be subject to liability under the laws of a foreign country, even the work has entered the public domain in the U.S. Under current law, foreign authors from most countries are accorded the same exclusive rights under U.S. copyright law as they would have if they were U.S. citizens. Under the 1909 Act, publication did not begin the copyright term for foreign authors, unless certain (extensive) exceptions applied; thus, a small category of works of foreign authors entered the public domain by virtue of being first published in the U.S. between January 1, 1923 and December 31, 1977. The exceptions include works by citizens of a number of countries, including the United Kingdom. The same analysis applied to works by foreign authors that were first published abroad before January 1, 1978, but copyright in such works, if lost due to lack of national eligibility, was later restored if the work was not in the public domain in the country of first publication and if certain other requirements were met. (The same law restored the copyright in foreign works that entered the public domain due to other reasons, including publication without notice of copyright before March 1, 1989, or failure to renew U.S. registration when such renewals were necessary.) We recommend consulting with an attorney in our Copyright Practice Group before relying on any conclusions concerning the copyright status of a work reached using this flowchart. 
© 2003 Bromberg & Sunstein LLP |
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