CIRCUL AR

15A

Duration of Copyright
The provisions of copyright law Works First Securing Federal Statutory Protection
dealing with duration are complex. on or after January 1, 1978

Different standards apply depending For works securing federal statutory protection for the first
on whether federal statutory time on or after January 1, 1978, the Copyright Act of 1976,
as amended in 1998, establishes a single copyright term and
copyright protection was secured
different methods for computing the duration of a copyright.
before or on or after January 1, Works of this kind fall into two categories.
1978, the date the current law—the
Works Created on or after January 1, 1978
Copyright Act of 1976—took effect.
The law automatically protects a work that is created and
In addition, several amendments fixed in a tangible medium of expression on or after Janu-
enacted since January 1, 1978, affect ary 1, 1978, from the moment of its creation and gives it a
term lasting for the author’s life plus an additional 70 years.
duration. This circular describes For a “joint work prepared by two or more authors who
the changes to the law that affect did not work for hire,” the term lasts for 70 years after the
duration and gives details about last surviving author’s death. For works made for hire and
anonymous and pseudonymous works, the duration of
terms of protection for copyrights copyright is 95 years from first publication or 120 years from
secured and renewed on certain dates. creation, whichever is shorter (unless the author’s identity
is later revealed in Copyright Office records, in which case
the term becomes the author’s life plus 70 years). For more
information about works made for hire, see Works Made for
Hire (Circular 30). For details about pseudonymous works, see
Pseudonyms (Circular 32).

Works in Existence but Not Published or Copyrighted on

January 1, 1978
The law automatically gives federal copyright protection to
works that were created but neither published nor registered
before January 1, 1978. The duration of copyright in these
works is generally computed the same way as for works
created on or after January 1, 1978: life plus 70 years or 95 or
120 years, depending on the nature of authorship. However,
all works in this category are guaranteed at least 25 years of
statutory protection. The law specifies that in no case would
copyright in a work in this category have expired before

w copyright.gov
December 31, 2002. In addition, if a work in this category was published before that date, the term
extends another 45 years, through the end of 2047.

Works Already Under Statutory Protection before 1978

For works that had already secured statutory copyright protection before January 1, 1978, the 1976
Copyright Act retains the system in the previous copyright law—the Copyright Act of 1909—for
computing the duration of protection, but with some changes.

Duration under 1909 Act

Federal standards for copyright duration differ substantially under the 1909 act compared with the
1976 act because of the renewal term contained in the 1909 act. Under the 1909 act, federal copyright
was secured on the date a work was published or, for unpublished works, on the date of registra-
tion. A copyright lasted for a first term of 28 years from the date it was secured. The copyright was
eligible for renewal during the final, that is, 28th year, of the first term. If renewed, the copyright
was extended for a second, or renewal, term of 28 years. If it was not renewed, the copyright expired
at the end of the first 28-year term, and the work is no longer protected by copyright. The term of
copyright for works published with a year date in the notice that is earlier than the actual date of
publication is computed from the year date in the copyright notice.

Effect of 1976 Act on Length of Subsisting Copyrights

The 1976 Copyright Act carried over the system in the 1909 Copyright Act for computing
copyright duration for works protected by federal statute before January 1, 1978, with one major
change: the length of the renewal term was increased to 47 years. The 1998 Copyright Term
Extension Act increased the renewal term another 20 years to 67 years. Thus the maximum total
term of copyright protection for works already protected by January 1, 1978, has been increased
from 56 years (a first term of 28 years plus a renewal term of 28 years) to 95 years (a first term of
28 years plus a renewal term of 67 years). Applying these standards, all works published in the
United States before January 1, 1928, are in the public domain.

Automatic Extension for Works in Renewal Term

Works originally copyrighted after 1922 and renewed before 1978. These works were automatically
given a longer copyright term. Copyrights that had already been renewed and were in their
second term at any time between December 31, 1976, and December 31, 1977, inclusive, do not
need to be renewed again. They have been automatically extended to last for a total term of 95
years (a first term of 28 years plus a renewal term of 67 years) from the end of the year in which
they were originally secured. For more information about renewal of copyright, see Renewal of
Copyright (Circular 6A).

Copyright Extensions before 1976 Act

Before passage of the 1976 Copyright Act, Congress enacted a series of nine acts that provided
interim extensions for works whose copyright protection began between September 19, 1906, and
December 31, 1918, if they were in their renewal terms. Without these interim extensions, copyrights
commencing during that time would have expired after 56 years, at the end of their renewal terms,
between September 19, 1962, and December 31, 1976.

Duration of Copyrights 2
 Example: A work that first secured federal copyright protection on October 5, 1907, and was
renewed in 1935, would have fallen into the public domain after October 5, 1963. The first act
extended the copyright to December 31, 1965; the second act extended it to December 31, 1967; the
third act extended it to December 31, 1968; the fourth act extended it to December 31, 1969; the fifth
act extended it to December 31, 1970; the sixth act extended it to December 31, 1971; the seventh
act extended it to December 31, 1972; the eighth act extended it to December 31, 1974; the ninth
extended it to December 31, 1976; and the 1976 Copyright Act extended the copyright through the
end of 1982 (75 years from the end of the year in which the copyright was originally secured).

Mandatory Renewal
Works originally copyrighted between January 1, 1950, and December 31, 1963. Copyrights in their
first 28-year term on January 1, 1978, still had to be renewed to be protected for the second term.
If a valid renewal registration was made at the proper time, the second term will last for 67 years.
However, if renewal registration for these works was not made within the statutory time limits, a
copyright originally secured between 1950 and 1963 expired on December 31 of its 28th year, and
protection was lost permanently.

Automatic Renewal and Voluntary Registration

Works originally copyrighted between January 1, 1964, and December 31, 1977. Congress amended the
copyright law on June 26, 1992, to automatically renew the copyright in these works and to make
renewal registration for them optional. Their copyright term is still divided between a 28-year
original term and a 67-year renewal term, but a renewal registration is not required to secure the
renewal copyright. The renewal vests on behalf of the appropriate renewal claimant upon renewal
registration or, if there is no renewal registration, on December 31 of the 28th year. For details about
the benefits of making a renewal registration, see Renewal of Copyright (Circular 6A).

Year-End Expiration of Copyright Terms

The 1976 Copyright Act provides that all terms of copyright will run through the end of the calendar
year in which they expire. This provision affects the duration of all copyrights, including those in
either their first or their second term on January 1, 1978. For works eligible for renewal, the renewal
filing period begins on December 31 of the 27th year of the copyright term.

note: Under the 1909 Copyright Act, terms of copyright and renewal filing periods corresponded
with dates of publication or registration, not calendar years.

Restoration of Copyright in Certain Foreign Works

Under the provisions of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA), certain foreign works whose
U.S. copyright protection had been lost because of noncompliance with formalities of U.S. law, were
restored as of January 1, 1996. Among the informalities subject to restoration is failure to renew.
Restoration occurs automatically, and the duration of the restored term is based on the term of
protection the work would have had without the informality. For details, see Copyright Restoration
Under the URAA (Circular 38B).

Duration of Copyrights 3
 For Further Information

By Internet
The copyright law, the Compendium, electronic registration, application forms, regulations, and
related materials are available on the Copyright Office website at www.copyright.gov.

By Email
To send an email inquiry, click the Contact Us link on the Copyright Office website.

By Telephone
For general information, call the Copyright Public Information Office at (202) 707-3000 or
1-877-476-0778 (toll free). Staff members are on duty from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, eastern time,
Monday through Friday, except federal holidays. To request application forms or circulars by
postal mail, call (202) 707-9100 or 1-877-476-0778 and leave a recorded message.

By Regular Mail
Write to
Library of Congress
U.S. Copyright Office
Outreach and Education Section
101 Independence Avenue, SE #6304
Washington, DC 20559-6304

1 U. S. Copyright Office · Library of Congress · 101 Independence Avenue SE · Washington, DC 20559 · copyright.gov
CIRCULAR 15A REVIEWED: 08/2011 REVISED: 02/2023