shared by Sally Rolls pavia with FHSA. EXPERT ADVICE: HARD COPY Got copyright conundrums? Here's a quick-and-dirty way to tell whether that old diary or photo is covered. For more genealogist- friendly copyright advice, see the December 2004 Family Tree Magazine, on newsstands Oct. 19. Due to complicated, changing laws, copyright duration depends on when a work was created and if it was published. Here are simplified guidelines (although exceptions apply). See www.copyright.cornell.edu/training/.Hirtle_Public_Domain.htm for details: * Works published before Jan. 1, 1923, are in the public domain (meaning anyone can use, adapt or copy them freely). * Works published between 1923 and 1963 were protected for 28 years--but the copyright could be renewed for 47 years, then extended for another 20. If the copyright wasn't renewed, the work is in the public domain. About 85 percent of works published during this period aren't protected anymore. * If a work was published between 1964 and 1977, the copyright lasts a total of 95 years. * Any published or unpublished work created on or after Jan. 1, 1978, is protected for the life of the creator plus 70 years. * A work created before Jan. 1, 1978, and published between that date and Dec. 31, 2002, is protected for the life of the creator plus 70 years or until Dec. 31, 2047, whichever is greater. Confused? You can assume that anything published within the past 75 years is protected by copyright. Sharon Debartolo Carmack Sharon DeBartolo Carmack is a Family Tree Magazine contributing editor http://www.familytreemagazine.com October 14, 2004