> Is the copyright term still for the life of the author plus 50 years? > > I was told recently that a copyright can be renewed. Is this true and if > so, how would we know it had been renewed? > See <http://www.loc.gov/copyright/circs/circ15a.pdf> for more details. Copyrights for documents published after January 1, 1978 last for the life of the author plus 70 years; anonymous works and works for hire are protected for 95 years after publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter. There is no renewal after that. Originally, copyright existed for 28 years, and could be renewed for an additional 28 years. Then the renewal period was raised to 47 years, for a total of 75 years. (Renewal was by filing a form with the copyright office.) Then renewal was made automatic and the total term was raised to 95 years. This means that any document copyrighted before 1903 must be out of copyright because the 95 years was up before the law was changed, and even if the author is still alive, once the copyright is gone and the document becomes public domain it can't be brought back under copyright. Documents copyrighted between 1963 and 1978 get 95 years, with no renewal necessary, because they were still in the original 28 year term when renewal was made automatic. Documents copyrighted between 1903 and 1963 are tricky, and whether or not they are still protected depends on when they were copyrighted and whether or not they were renewed before the end of the 28th year. You can ask the copyright office to do a search; if it was renewed, they will have a record. An important side note: Prior to 1989, if a document did not say specifically in writing in an obvious location "Copyright date Author's Name" then it is assumed to be in the public domain and hence, not copyrighted. I know this is pretty harsh, and it surprised me when I read it, but it's true. <http://www.loc.gov> has a copyright faq and some downloadable pdf files that cover all of this. -- Tom, Sue and Laura Thatcher [email protected]

A couple of items... When the Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act was passed into law, works published through 1923 had passed into the public domain. Once in the public domain always in the public domain. Works PUBLISHED before Jan 1, 1978, WITHOUT proper copyright notice are in the public domain. The keys to this are "published" and "without copyright notice." The law passed in 1976 made provisions for works published after that date without notice even though notice was required. In 1989, the requirement for copyright notice was removed. Unpublished works are protected by current copyright law and the protection is based on year of creation. No unpublished work will be in the public until December 31, 2002. The duration of copyright on works created today has crossed the line into the ridiculous as far as I am concerned. If I live another 50 years, my copyright protection for what I am writing now will not expire until December 31, 2120.... The life of the author plush 70 years. The US Constitution states "The Congress shall have power: ... To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries;" I think the Congress is stretching the meaning of "for limited times." Mike Goad At 07:55 AM 9/8/00 -0400, Tom Thatcher wrote: >This means that any document copyrighted before 1903 must be out of >copyright because the 95 years was up before the law was changed, and even >if the author is still alive, once the copyright is gone and the document >becomes public domain it can't be brought back under copyright. > >Documents copyrighted between 1963 and 1978 get 95 years, with no renewal >necessary, because they were still in the original 28 year term when renewal >was made automatic. > >Documents copyrighted between 1903 and 1963 are tricky, and whether or not >they are still protected depends on when they were copyrighted and whether >or not they were renewed before the end of the 28th year. You can ask the >copyright office to do a search; if it was renewed, they will have a record. > >An important side note: Prior to 1989, if a document did not say >specifically in writing in an obvious location "Copyright date Author's >Name" then it is assumed to be in the public domain and hence, not >copyrighted. I know this is pretty harsh, and it surprised me when I read >it, but it's true. <http://www.loc.gov> has a copyright faq and some >downloadable pdf files that cover all of this. > > > > >-- >Tom, Sue and Laura Thatcher >[email protected] > > >==== COPYRIGHT Mailing List ==== >Support RootsWeb - http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/how-to-subscribe.html > >============================== >Personalized Mailing Lists: never miss a connection again. >http://pml.rootsweb.com/ >Brought to you by RootsWeb.com.