main points to consider about the impact of the Copyright Act of
1976 and the Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988:
A CHANGED SYSTEM OF COPYRIGHT FORMALITIES
     Some of the most sweeping changes under the 1976 Act involve
copyright formalities that is, the procedural requirements for
securing and maintaining full copyright protection. The old
system of formalities involved copyright notice, deposit and
registration, recordation of transfers and licenses of copyright
ownership, and United States manufacture, among other things. In
general, while retaining formalities, the 1976 law reduced the
chances of mistakes, softened the consequences of errors and
omissions, and allowed for the correction of errors.
     The Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988 reduced
formalities, most notably making the addition of the previously
mandatory copyright notice optional. It should be noted that the
amended notice requirements are not retroactive.
AUTOMATIC COPYRIGHT
     Under the present copyright law, copyright exists in
original works of authorship created and fixed in any tangible
medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which
they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated,
either directly, or indirectly with the aid of a machine or
device. In other words, copyright is an incident of creative
authorship not dependent on statutory formalities. Thus,
registration with the Copyright Office generally is not required,
but there are certain advantages that arise from a timely
registration. For further information on the advantages of
registration, write or call the Copyright Office and request
Circular 1, "Copyright Basics."
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
     Both the 1909 and the 1976 copyright acts require a notice
of copyright on published works. For most works, a copyright
notice consists of the symbol _, the word  "Copyright," or the
abbreviation "Copr.," together with the name of the owner of
copyright and the year of first publication for example : "_ Joan
Crane 1987" or  "Copyright 1987 by Abraham Adams."
     For sound recordings published on or after February 15,
1972, a copyright notice might read "         1987 XYZ Records,
Inc." (See page 8 for more information about sound recordings.)
     For mask works a copyright notice might read "         SDR
Industries." (Request Circular 100 for more information.)
     The 1976 law prescribes that all visually perceptible
published copies of a work, or published phonorecords of a sound
recording, shall bear a proper copyright notice. This applies to
such works published before March 1, 1989. After March 1, 1989,
notice of copyright on these works is optional. Adding the
notice, however, is strongly encouraged and, if litigation
involving the copyright occurs, certain advantages exist for
adding the notice.
     The requirement for the notice under the 1976 law applied
equally whether the work was published in the United States or
elsewhere by authority of the copyright owner. Compliance with
the statutory notice requirements was the responsibility of the
copyright owner. Unauthorized publication without the copyright
notice, or with a defective notice, does not affect the validity
of the copyright in the work.
     Advance permission from, or registration with, the Copyright
Office is not required before placing a copyright notice on
copies of the work, or on phonorecords of a sound recording.
Moreover, for works first published on or after January 1, 1978
through February 28, 1989, omission of
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the required notice, or use of a defective notice, did not result
in forfeiture or outright loss of copyright protection. Certain
omissions of, or defects in the notice of copyright, however, may
lead to loss of copyright protection if certain steps are not
taken to correct or cure the omissions or defects. The Copyright
Office has issued a final regulation (37 CFR 201.20) which
suggests various acceptable positions for the notice of
copyright. For further information, write to the Copyright Office
and request Circular 3,"Copyright Notice".
WORKS ALREADY IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN
     Neither the 1976 Act, the Berne Convention Implementation
Act of 1988, nor the Copyright Renewal Act of 1992 will restore
protection to works that fell into the public domain before the
passage of the laws.  However, the North American Free Trade
Agreement Implementation Act (NAFTA) and the Uruguay Round
Agreements Act (URAA) may restore copyright in certain works of
foreign origin that were in the public domain in the United States.
Under the copyright law in effect prior to January 1, 1978,
copyright could be lost in several situations.  The most common
were publication without the required notice of copyright,
expiration of the first 28-year term without renewal, or final
expiration of the second copyright term.  The Copyright Renewal
Act of 1992 automatically renews first term copyrights secured
between January 1, 1964 and December 31, 1977.
SCOPE OF EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS UNDER COPYRIGHT
     The present law has changed and enlarged in some cases, the
scope of the copyright owner's rights as  against users of a
work. The new rights apply to all uses of a work subject to
protection by copyright after January 1, 1978, regardless of when
the work was created.
                DURATION OF COPYRIGHT PROTECTION
            ****************************************
WORKS ORIGINALLY COPYRIGHTED ON OR AFTER JANUARY 1, 1978
     A work that is created and fixed in tangible form for the
first time on or after January 1, 1978, is automatically
protected from the moment of its creation, and is ordinarily
given a term enduring for the author's life, plus an additional
50 years after the author's death. In the case of "a joint work
prepared by two or more authors who did not work for hire," the
term lasts for 50 years after the last surviving author's death.
For works made for hire, and for anonymous and pseudonymous works
(unless the author's identity is revealed in the Copyright Office
records), the duration of copyright will be 75 years from
publication or 100 years from creation, whichever is less.
     Works created before the 1976 law came into effect, but
neither published nor registered for copyright before January 1,
1978, have been automatically brought under the statute and are
now given Federal copyright protection. The duration of copyright
in these works will generally be computed in the same way as for
new works: the life-plus-50 or 75/100-year terms will apply.
However, all works in this category are guaranteed at least 25
years of statutory protection.
WORKS COPYRIGHTED BEFORE JANUARY 1, 1978
     Under the law in effect before 1978, copyright was secured
either on the date a work was published with notice of copyright,
or on the date of registration if the work was registered in
unpublished form. In either case, copyright endured for a first
term of 28 years from the date on which it was secured. During
the last (28th) year of the first term, the copyright was
eligible for renewal. The new copyright law has extended the
renewal term from 28 to 47 years for copyrights in existence on
January 1, 1978. However, the copyright still must be renewed in
the 28th calendar year to receive the 47-year period of added
protection. For more detailed information on the copyright term,
write or call the Copyright Office and request Circulars 15a and
15t.
               WORKS FIRST PUBLISHED BEFORE 1978:
                      THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE
            *****************************************
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE
     In investigating the copyright status of works first
published before January 1, 1978, the most important thing to
look for is the notice of copyright. As a general rule under the
previous law, copyright protection was lost permanently if the
notice was omitted from the first authorized published edition of
a work, or if it appeared in the wrong form or position. The form
and position of the copyright notice for various types of works
were specified in the copyright statute. Some courts were liberal
in overlooking relatively minor departures from the statutory
requirements, but a basic failure to comply with the notice
provisions forfeited copyright protection and put the work into
the public domain in this country.
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                                                           page 8
ABSENCE OF COPYRIGHT NOTICE
     For works first published before 1978, the complete absence
of a copyright notice from a published copy generally indicates
that the work is not protected by copyright. For works first
published before March 1, 1989, the copyright notice is
mandatory. Some works may contain a notice, others may not. The
absence of a notice in March 1, 1989 and later works does not
necessarily indicate that the work is in the public domain.
UNPUBLISHED WORKS. No notice of copyright was required on the
copies of any unpublished work. The concept of "publication" is
very technical, and it was possible for a number of copies
lacking a copyright notice to be reproduced and distributed
without affecting copyright protection.
FOREIGN EDITIONS. Under certain circumstances, the law exempted
copies of a copyrighted work from the notice requirements if they
were first published outside the United States. Some copies of
these foreign editions could find their way into the United
States without impairing the copyright.
ACCIDENTAL OMISSION. The 1909 statute preserved copyright
protection if the notice was omitted by accident or mistake from
a "particular copy or copies."
UNAUTHORIZED PUBLICATION. A valid copyright was not secured if
someone deleted the notice and/or published the work without
authorization from the copyright owner.
SOUND RECORDINGS. Reproductions of sound recordings usually
contain two different types of creative works: the underlying
musical, dramatic, or literary work that is being being performed
or read, and the fixation of the actual sounds embodying the
performance or reading. For protection of the underlying musical
or literary work embodied in a recording, it is not necessary
that a copyright notice covering this material appear on the
phonograph records or tapes in which the recording is reproduced.
As noted above, a special notice is required for protection of
the recording of a series of musical, spoken, or other sounds
which were fixed on or after February 15, 1972. Sound recordings
fixed before February 15, 1972, are not eligible for Federal
copyright protection. The Sound Recording Act of 1971, the
present copyright law, and the Berne Convention Implementation
Act of 1988 cannot be applied or be construed to provide any
retroactive protection for sound recordings fixed before
February 15, 1972. Such works, however, may be protected by various
state laws or doctrines of common law.
THE DATE IN THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE
     If you find a copyright notice, the date it contains may be
important in determining the copyright status of the work. In
general, the notice on works published before 1978 must include
the year in which copyright was secured by publication (or, if
the work was first registered for copyright in unpublished form,
the year in which registration was made). There are two main
exceptions to this rule.
*    For pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works (Classes F
     through K under the 1909 law) the law permitted omission of
     the year date in the notice.
*    For "new versions" of previously published or copyrighted
     works, the notice was not usually required to include more
     than the year of first publication of the new version
     itself. This is explained further under "Derivative Works"
     below.
     The year in the notice usually (though not always) indicated
when the copyright began. It is therefore  significant in
determining whether a copyright is still in effect or, if the
copyright has not yet run its course, the year date will help in
deciding when the copyright is scheduled to expire. For further
information about the duration of copyright, request Circular
15a.
     In evaluating the meaning of the date in a notice, you
should keep the following points in mind:
WORKS PUBLISHED AND COPYRIGHTED BEFORE JANUARY 1, 1978: A work
published before January 1, 1978, and copyrighted within the past
75 years may still be protected by copyright in the United States
if a valid renewal registration was made during the 28th year of
the first term of the copyright. If renewed, and if still valid
under the other provisions of the law, the copyright will expire
75 years from the end of the year in which it was first secured.
     Therefore, the United States copyright in any work published
or copyrighted more than 75 years ago (75 years from January 1st
in the present year) has expired by operation of law, and the
work has permanently fallen into the public domain in the United
States. For example, on January 1, 1995, copyright in works first
published or copyrighted before January 1, 1920, will have
expired on January 1, 1996, copyright in works first published or
copyrighted before January 1, 1921, will have expired.
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                                                           page 9
WORKS FIRST PUBLISHED OR COPYRIGHTED BETWEEN JANUARY 1, 1920, AND
DECEMBER 31, 1949, BUT NOT RENEWED: If a work was first published
or copyrighted between January 1, 1920, and December 31, 1949, it
is important to determine whether the copyright was renewed
during the last (28th) year of the first term of the copyright.
This can be done by searching the Copyright Office records or
catalogs, as explained above. If no renewal registration was
made, copyright protection expired permanently on the 28th year
date it was first secured.
WORKS FIRST PUBLISHED OR COPYRIGHTED BETWEEN JANUARY 1, 1920, AND
DECEMBER 31, 1949, AND REGISTERED FOR RENEWAL: When a valid
renewal registration was made and copyright in the work was in
its second term on December 31, 1977, the renewal copyright term
was extended under the present act to 47 years. In these cases,
copyright will last for a total of 75 years from the end of the
year in which copyright was originally secured. Example:
Copyright in a work first published in 1920, and renewed in 1948,
will expire on December 31 , 1995.
WORKS FIRST PUBLISHED OR COPYRIGHTED BETWEEN JANUARY 1, 1950, AND
DECEMBER 31, 1977: If a work was in its first 28-year term of
copyright protection on January 1, 1978, it must be renewed in a
timely fashion to secure the maximum term of copyright protection
provided by the present copyright law. If renewal registration is
made during the 28th calendar year of its first term, copyright
will endure for 75 years from the end of the year copyright was
originally secured. If not renewed, the copyright expires at the
end of its 28th calendar year.
UNPUBLISHED, UNREGISTERED WORKS: Before 1978, if a work had
neither been "published" in the legal sense nor registered in the
Copyright Office, it was subject to perpetual protection under
the common law. On January 1, 1978, all works of this kind,
subject to protection by copyright, were automatically brought
under the Federal copyright statute. The duration of these
Federal copyrights will vary, but none of them will expire before
December 31, 2002.
DERIVATIVE WORKS
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