2Duration of Copyrights
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
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 dier 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was secured on the date a work was published or, for unpublished works, on the date of registra-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 rst term of 28 years from the date it was secured. The copyright was
eligible for renewal during the nal, that is, 28th year, of the rst 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 rst 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.
Eect 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 rst term of 28 years plus a renewal term of 28 years) to 95 years (a rst term of
28 years plus a renewal term of 67 years). Applying these standards, all works published in the
United States before January 1, 1929, are in the public domain.
Automatic Extension for Works in Renewal Term
Works originally copyrighted aer 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 rst 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 aer 56 years, at the end of their renewal terms,
between September 19, 1962, and December 31, 1976.