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copyright.gov
CIRCULAR
22
In General
Methods of Approaching a Copyright Investigation
There are several ways to investigate whether a work is under
copyright protection and, if so, the facts of the copyright.
These are the main ones:
1. Examine a copy of the work for such elements as
a copyright notice, place and date of publication,
author and publisher. If the work is a sound recording,
examine the disc, tape, cartridge, or cassette in which
the recorded sound is xed, or the album cover, sleeve,
or container in which the recording is sold.
2. Search the Copyright Oce catalogs and other
records.
3. Have the Copyright Oce conduct a search for you.
A Few Words of Caution About
Copyright Investigations
Copyright investigations oen involve more than one of
these methods. Even if you follow all three approaches, the
results may not be conclusive. Moreover, as explained in this
circular, the changes brought about under the Copyright Act
of 1976, the Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988,
the Copyright Renewal Act of 1992, and the Sonny Bono
Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 must be considered
when investigating the copyright status of a work.
This Circular oers some practical
guidance on what to look for if you
are investigating the copyright status
of a work. It is important to realize,
however, that this circular contains
only general information and that
there are a number of exceptions to
the principles outlined here. In many
cases, it is important to consult with
a copyright attorney before reaching
any conclusions regarding the
copyright status of a work.
How to Investigate
the Copyright Status
of a Work
How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work 2
How to Search Copyright Oce Catalogs and Records
Catalog of Copyright Entries
The Copyright Oce published the Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) in printed format from 1891
through 1978. From 1979 through 1982, the
CCE was issued in microche format. The CCE is divided
into parts according to the classes of works registered. Each
CCE segment covers all registrations
made during a particular period of time. Renewal registrations made from 1979 through 1982 are
found in Section 8 of the catalog. Renewals prior to that time are generally listed at the end of the
volume containing the class of work to which they pertained.
A number of libraries throughout the U. S. maintain copies of the
CCE
, and this may provide a
good starting point if you wish to make a search yourself. There are some cases, however, in which a
search of the
CCE
alone will not be sucient to provide the needed information. For example:
• Because the CCE does not include entries for assignments or other recorded documents, it cannot
be used for searches involving the ownership of rights.
• The
CCE entry contains the essential facts concerning a registration, but it is not a verbatim
transcript of the registration record. It does not contain the address of the copyright claimant.
Eective with registrations made since 1982 when the
CCE was discontinued, the only method of
searching
CCE volumes outside the Library of Congress is by using the Internet to access the online
catalog. The online catalog contains entries from 1978 to the present. Information on accessing
the catalog via the Internet is provided below. The Copyright Oce has been digitizing the 660
volumes of the
CCE and many are now available at www.archive.org/details/copyrightrecords/.
Individual Searches of Copyright Records
The Copyright Oce is located in the Library of Congress, James Madison Memorial Building,
101 Independence Avenue
SE, Washington, DC 20559.
Most Copyright Oce records are open to public inspection and searching from 8:30
am
to
5:00
pm
, eastern time, Monday through Friday, except federal holidays. The various records freely
available to the public include an extensive card catalog, an automated catalog containing records
from 1978 forward, record books, and microlm records of assignments and related documents.
Other records, including correspondence les and deposit copies, are not open to the public for
searching. However, they may be inspected upon request and payment of a search fee.*
*:
Copyright Oce fees are subject to change. For current fees, please check the Copyright Oce
website at www.copyright.gov, write the Copyright Oce, or call () - or ---.
If you wish to do your own searching in the Copyright Oce les open to the public, you will be
given assistance in locating the records you need and in learning procedures for searching. If the
Copyright Oce sta member actually makes the search for you, a search fee must be charged. The
search will not be done while you wait.
In addition, Copyright Oce records in machine-readable form cataloged from January 1, 1978,
to the present, including registration and renewal information and recorded documents, are available
for searching from the Copyright Oce website at
www.copyright.gov.
The Copyright Oce does not oer search assistance to users on the Internet.
How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work 3
Searching by the Copyright Oce
In General
Upon request and at the statutory rate for each hour or fraction of an hour used, the Copyright
Oce sta will search the records of registrations and other recorded docu ments concerning
ownership of copyrights and will provide a written report. If you request a cost estimate, the
Copyright Oce will provide one. Estimates for searches are based on the information you furnish
and are provided for a set fee that is applied toward the cost of the search and report. Fees for
estimates are nonrefundable and may be applied to a search for up to one year from the date of
the estimate. Requests must include an address and telephone number where you may be reached
during business hours and an email address if available.
Certication of a search report is available for an additional fee. Certied searches are frequently
requested to meet the evidentiary requirements of litigation.
Preferred payment is by personal check or credit card. Contact the Copyright Oce for
information regarding payment with money orders or by overseas banking institutions.
For information, correspondence, or payment, contact:
Copyright Oce
GC/I&R/RRC
Attn: RCC
P.O. Box 70400
Washington,
DC 20024
phone
: (202) 707-6850 (
m–f
, 8:30–5:00 eastern time)
fax
: (202) 252-3485
email
: copysearch@copyright.gov
What the Fee Does Not Cover
The search fee does not include the cost of additional certi cates, photocopies of deposits, or copies
of other Oce records. For information concerning these services, see Obtaining Access to and
Copies of Copyright Oce Records and Deposits (
Circular 6).
Information Needed
The more detailed information you furnish with your request, the less expensive the search will be.
Please provide as much of the following information as possible:
• the title of the work, with any possible variants
• the names of the authors, including possible pseudonyms
• the name of the probable copyright owner, which may be the publisher or producer
• the approximate year when the work was published or registered
• the type of work involved (book, play, musical composition, sound recording, photograph, etc.)
• for a work originally published as a part of a periodical or collection, the title of that
publication and any other information, such as the volume or issue number, to help identify it
• the registration number or any other copyright data
Motion pictures are oen based on other works, such as books or serialized contributions to
periodicals or other composite works. If you want a search for an underlying work or for music from
How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work 4
a motion picture, you must specically request such a search. You must also identify the underlying
works and music and furnish the specic titles, authors, and approximate dates of these works.
Searches Involving Assignments and Other Documents Aecting Copyright Ownership
For the standard hourly search fee, the Copyright Oce sta will search its indexes covering the
records of assignments and other recorded documents concerning ownership of copyrights. The
reports of searches in these cases will state the facts shown in the Oce’s indexes of the recorded
documents but will oer no interpretation of the content of the documents or their legal eect.
Limitations on Searches
In determining whether or not to have a search made, you should keep the following points in mind:
No Special Lists ·
The Copyright Oce does not maintain any lists of works by subject or any lists
of works that are in the public domain.
Contributions Not Listed Separately in Copyright Oce Records ·
Individual works such as stories,
poems, articles, or musical compositions that were published as contributions to a copyrighted
periodical or collection are usually not listed separately by title in our records.
No Comparisons ·
The Copyright Oce does not search or compare copies of works to determine
questions of possible infringement or to determine how much two or more versions of a work have
in common.
Titles and Names Not Copyrightable ·
Copyright does not protect names and titles, and our records
list many dierent works identied by the same or similar titles. Some brand names, trade names,
slogans, and phrases may be entitled to protection under the general rules of law relating to unfair
competition. They may also be entitled to registration under provisions of trademark laws. For general
questions about the federal trademark registration process contact:
Trademark Assistance Center,
1-800-786-9199 (select option #1),
TrademarkAssistanceCen[email protected]ov, or 600 Dulany Street,
Madison East, Concourse Level, Alexandria, VA 22314. Possible protection of names and titles under
common law principles of unfair competition is a question of state law.
No Legal Advice ·
The Copyright Oce cannot express any opinion as to the legal signicance or
eect of the facts included in a search report.
Some Words of Caution
Searches Not Always Conclusive
Searches of the Copyright Oce catalogs and records are useful in helping to determine the
copyright status of a work, but they cannot be regarded as conclusive in all cases. The complete
absence of any information about a work in the Oce records does not mean that the work is
unprotected. The following are examples of cases in which information about a particular work may
be incomplete or lacking entirely in the Copyright Oce:
• Before 1978, unpublished works were entitled to protection under common law without the
need of registration.
How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work 5
• Works published with notice prior to 1978 may be registered at any time within the rst
28-year term.
• Works copyrighted between January 1, 1964, and December 31, 1977, are aected by the
Copyright Renewal Act of 1992, which automatically extends the copyright term and makes
renewal registrations optional.
• For works under copyright protection on or aer January 1, 1978, registration may be made at
any time during the term of protection. Although registration is not required as a condition
of copyright protection, there are certain denite advantages to registration. For further
information, see Copyright Basics (
Circular 1) .
• Since searches are ordinarily limited to registrations that have already been cataloged, a search
report may not cover recent registrations for which catalog records are not yet available.
• The information in the search request may not have been complete or specic enough to
identify the work.
• The work may have been registered under a dierent title or as part of a larger work.
Protection in Foreign Countries
Even if you conclude that a work is in the public domain in the United States, this does not
necessarily mean that you are free to use it in other countries. Every nation has its own laws
governing the length and scope of copyright protection, and these are applicable to uses of the work
within that nation’s borders. Thus, the expiration or loss of copyright protection in the United States
may still leave the work fully protected against unauthorized use in other countries. For further
information, see Obtaining Access to and Copies of Copyright Oce Records and Deposits (
Circular 6);
Renewal of Copyright
(Circular 6A); and Duration of Copyright (Circular 15A).
Impact of the Copyright Act on Copyright Investigations
On October 19, 1976, the President signed into law a complete revision of the copyright law of the
United States (title 17 of the United States Code). Most provisions of this statute came into force
on January 1, 1978, superseding the Copyright Act of 1909. These provisions made signicant
changes in the copyright law. Further important changes resulted from the Berne Convention
Implementation Act of 1988, which took eect March 1, 1989; the Copyright Renewal Act of 1992
(P.L. 102-307) enacted June 26, 1992, which amended the renewal provisions of the copyright law;
and the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-298) enacted October 27, 1998,
which extended the term of copyrights for an additional 20 years.
If you need more information about the provisions of either the 1909 or the 1976 law, write or
call the Copyright Oce. Both laws are available on the Copyright Oce website. For information
about renewals, see Renewal of Copyright (
Circular 6A). For paper copies of the law, order Copyright
Law of the United States (
Circular 92), from:
U.S. Government Printing Oce
P .O . Box 979050
St. Louis,
MO 63197-9000
web
: http://bookstore.gpo.gov
phone
: (202) 512-1800 [toll free: 1-866-512-1800]
fax
: (202) 512-2104
email
: contactc[email protected]ov
Or go to the Copyright Oce website at www.copyright.gov/title17 .
How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work 6
For copyright investigations, the following points about the impact of the Copyright Act of 1976,
the Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988, and the Copyright Renewal Act of 1992 should
be considered.
A Changed System of Copyright Formalities
Some of the most sweeping changes under the 1976 Copyright 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
U. S. manufacture, among other things. In general, while
retaining formalities, the 1976 law reduced the chances of mistakes, soened 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.
The Copyright Renewal Act of 1992, enacted June 26, 1992, automatically extends the term of
copyrights secured between January 1, 1964, and December 31, 1977, making renewal registration
optional. Consult Renewal of Copyright (
Circular 6A) for details. For additional information, contact
the Copyright Oce by phone at (202) 707-3000 or 1-877-476-0778 (toll free).
Automatic Copyright
Under the present copyright law, copyright exists in original works of authorship created and xed
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 and is not
dependent on statutory formalities. Thus, registration with the Copyright Oce generally is not
required, but there are certain advantages that arise from a timely registration. For further
information on the advantages of reg istration, see Copyright Basics (
Circular 1.)
Copyright Notice
The 1909 Copyright Act and the 1976 Copyright Act as originally enacted required a notice of
copyright on published works. For most works, a copyright notice consisted of the symbol ©, the word
“Copyright” or the abbreviation “Copr.,” together with the name of the owner of copyright and the year
of rst publication. For example: “© Joan Crane 2004” or “Copyright 2008 by Abraham Adams.”
For sound recordings published on or aer February 15, 1972, a copyright notice might read
“π 1994
XYZ Records, Inc.” See below for more information about sound recordings.
For mask works, a copyright notice might read “µ
SDR Industries.” See Federal Statutory
Protection for Mask Works (
Circular 100), for more information.
As originally enacted, the 1976 law prescribed that all visually perceptible published copies of
a work, or published phonorecords of a sound recording, should bear a proper copyright notice.
This applies to such works published before March 1, 1989. Aer 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 publishing a work with notice.
Prior to March 1, 1989, the requirement for the notice 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 aect the validity of
the copyright in the work.
How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work 7
Advance permission from, or registration with, the Copyright Oce is not required before
placing a copyright notice on copies of the work or on phonorecords of a sound recording.
Moreover, for works rst published on or aer January 1, 1978, through February 28, 1989,
omission of 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, could have led to loss of copyright protection if steps were not taken to correct or cure
the omissions or defects. The Copyright Oce has issued a nal regulation (37
CFR 201.20) that
suggests various acceptable positions for the notice of copyright. This regulation is available on
the Copyright Oce website at
www.copyright.gov/title37/201/index.html . For further information,
see Copyright Notice (
Circular 3).
Works Already in the Public Domain
In general, once a work enters the public domain, copyright protection cannot be restored. However,
certain exceptions apply to works of foreign origin. For eligible foreign works, copyright protection
is automatically restored under the provisions of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA)
and section 104(a) of the copyright law. Previous to the URAA, the North American Free Trade
Agreement Implementation Act (NAFTA) contained copyright restoration provisions for certain
Canadian and Mexican works.
Under the copyright law in eect 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 rst 28-year term without renewal, or nal expiration of the second copyright term. The
Copyright Renewal Act of 1992 automatically renews rst 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.
The new rights apply to all uses of a work subject to protection by copyright aer 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 xed in tangible form for the rst time on or aer 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 70 years aer 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 70 years aer 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 Oce records), the duration of copyright
will be 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is less.
Works created before the 1976 law came into eect 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-70 or 95/120-year terms will apply.
However, all works in this category were guaranteed at least 25 years of statutory protection.
How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work 8
Works Copyrighted Before January 1, 1978
Under the law in eect 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 rst term of 28 years from the date on which it was secured.
During the last (28th) year of the rst term, the copyright was eligible for renewal. The copyright law
extends the renewal term from 28 to 67 years for copyrights in existence on January 1, 1978.
However, for works copyrighted prior to January 1, 1964, the copyright still must have been
renewed in the 28th calendar year to receive the 67-year period of added protection. The amending
legislation enacted June 26, 1992, automatically extends this second term for works rst copyrighted
between January 1, 1964, and December 31, 1977. For more detailed information on the copyright
term, see Duration of Copyright (
Circular 15A).
Works First Published Before : the Copyright Notice
General Information About the Copyright Notice
In investigating the copyright status of works rst published before January 1, 1978, the most
important thing to look for is the notice of copyright. As a general rule under the 1909 law,
copyright protection was lost permanently if the notice was omitted from the rst 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 specied 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.
Absence of Copyright Notice
For works rst 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 rst published
before March 1, 1989, the copyright notice is required, but omission could have been cured by
registration before or within ve years of publication and by adding the notice to copies published
in the United States aer discovery of the omission. Some works may contain a notice, others may
not. The absence of a notice in works published on or aer March 1, 1989, 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 aecting copyright protection.
Foreign Editions ·
In the case of works seeking ad interim copyright,* copies of a copyrighted work
were exempted from the notice requirements if they were rst published outside the United States.
Some copies of these foreign editions could nd their way into the United States without impairing
the copyright.
*:
“Ad interim copyright” refers to a special short term of copyright available to certain pre-1978
books and periodicals. For further information on ad interim copyright, see page 11.
How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work 9
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 dierent types of
creative works: the underlying musical, dramatic, or literary work that is being performed or read
and the xation 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 on which the recording is
reproduced. A special notice is required for protection of the recording of a series of musical,
spoken, or other sounds that were xed on or aer February 15, 1972. Sound recordings xed 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 xed 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 nd 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 rst registered for copyright in
unpublished form, the year in which registration was made. There are two main exceptions to this rule.
1. 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.
2. For “new versions” of previously published or copyrighted works, the notice was not usually
required to include more than the year of rst 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, signicant in determining whether a copyright is still in eect; 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, see Duration of Copyright (
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 on or aer January 1, 1928, may still be protected by copyright in the United States
if a valid renewal registration was made during the 28th year of the rst term of the copyright. If
renewed by registration or under the Copyright Renewal Act of 1992 and if still valid under the
other provisions of the law, the copyright will expire 95 years from the end of the year in which it
was rst secured.
Therefore, the
U. S. copyright in any work published or copyrighted prior to January 1, 1928, has
expired by operation of law, and the work has permanently fallen into the public domain in the United
States. On January 1, 1997, copyrights in works rst published or copyrighted before January 1, 1922,
expired; on January 1, 1998, copyrights in works rst published or copyrighted before January 1, 1923,
expired. Unless the copyright law is changed again, no works under protection on January 1, 1999, will
fall into the public domain in the United States until January 1, 2019.
How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work 10
Works First Published or Copyrighted Between January 1, 1923, and December 31, 1949, But Not
Renewed ·
If a work was rst published or copyrighted between January 1, 1923, and December 31,
1949, it is important to determine whether the copyright was renewed during the last (28th) year
of the rst term of the copyright. This can be done by searching the Copyright Oce records or
catalogs as explained previously. If no renewal registration was made, copyright protection expired
permanently at the end of the 28th year from the year date it was rst secured.
Works First Published or Copyrighted Between January 1, 1923, 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
latest act to 67 years. In these cases, copyright will last for a total of 95 years from the end of the year
in which copyright was originally secured. Example: Copyright in a work rst published in 1925 and
renewed in 1953 expired on December 31, 2020.
Works First Published or Copyrighted Between January 1, 1950, and December 31, 1963 ·
If a work
was in its rst 28-year term of copyright protection on January 1, 1978, it must have been renewed in
a timely fashion to have secured the maximum term of copyright protection. If renewal registration
was made during the 28th calendar year of its rst term, copyright would endure for 95 years from
the end of the year copyright was originally secured. If not renewed, the copyright expired at the
end of its 28th calendar year.
Works First Published or Copyrighted Between January 1, 1964, and December 31, 1977 ·
If a work
was in its rst 28-year term of copyright protection on June 26, 1992, renewal registration was
optional. The term of copyright for works published or copyrighted during this time period was
extended to 95 years by the Copyright Renewal Act of 1992 and the Sonny Bono Term Extension Act
of 1998. There was no need to make the renewal ling to extend the original 28-year copyright term
to the full 95 years.
However, there were several advantages to making a renewal registration during the 28th year
of the original term of copyright. If renewal registration was made during the 28th year of the
original term of copyright, the renewal copyright vested in the name of the renewal claimant on the
eective date of the renewal registration; the renewal certicate constitutes prima facie evidence
as to the validity of the copyright during the renewed and extended term and of the facts stated in
the certicate; and, the right to use the derivative work in the extended term may be aected. See
Extension of Copyright Terms (
Circular 15T) for further information.
Unpublished, Unregistered Works ·
Before 1978, if a work had been neither “published” in the legal
sense nor registered in the Copyright Oce, 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 copyright for these
works can vary, but none of them expired before December 31, 2002.
Derivative Works
In examining a copy (or a record, disc, or tape) for copyright information, it is important to
determine whether that particular version of the work is an original edition of the work or a “new
version.” New versions include musical arrangements, adaptations, revised or newly edited editions,
translations, dramatizations, abridgments, compilations, and works republished with new matter
added. The law provides that derivative works, published or unpublished, are independently
How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work 11
copyrightable and that the copyright in such a work does not aect or extend the protection, if any,
in the underlying work. Under the 1909 law, courts have also held that the notice of copyright on a
derivative work ordinarily need not include the dates or other information pertaining to the earlier
works incorporated in it. This principle is specically preserved in the present copyright law. Thus,
if the copy (or the record, disc, or tape) constitutes a derivative version of the work, these points
should be kept in mind:
• The date in the copyright notice is not necessarily an indication of when copyright in all the
material in the work will expire. Some of the material may already be in the public domain,
and some parts of the work may expire sooner than others.
• Even if some of the material in the derivative work is in the public domain and free for use,
this does not mean that the “new” material added to it can be used without permission from
the owner of copyright in the derivative work. It may be necessary to compare editions to
determine what is free to use and what is not.
• Ownership of rights in the material included in a derivative work and in the preexisting work
upon which it may be based may dier, and permission obtained from the owners of certain
parts of the work may not authorize the use of other parts.
The Name in the Copyright Notice
Under the copyright statute in eect before 1978, the notice was required to include “the name of
the copyright proprietor.” The present act requires that the notice include “the name of the owner
of copyright in the work, or an abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a generally
known alternative designation of the owner.” The name in the notice (sometimes in combination
with the other statements on the copy, records, disc, tape, container, or label) oen gives persons
wishing to use the work the information needed to identify the owner from whom licenses or
permission can be sought. In other cases, the name provides a starting point for a search in the
Copyright Oce records or catalogs, as explained at the beginning of this circular.
In the case of works published before 1978, copyright registration is made in the name of the
individual person or the entity identied as the copyright owner in the notice. For works published
on or aer January 1, 1978, registration is made in the name of the person or entity owning all the
rights on the date the registration is made. This may or may not be the name appearing in the notice.
In addition to its records of copyright registration, the Copyright Oce maintains extensive records
of assignments, exclusive licenses, and other documents dealing with copyright ownership.
Ad Interim
Ad interim copyright was a special short-term copyright that applied to certain books and
periodicals in the English language that were rst manufactured and published outside the United
States. It was a partial exception to the manufacturing requirements of the previous
U. S. copyright
law. Its purpose was to secure temporary
U. S. protection for a work, pending the manufacture of an
edition in the United States. The ad interim requirements changed several times over the years and
were subject to a number of exceptions and qualications.
The manufacturing provisions of the copyright act expired on July 1, 1986, and are no longer a
part of the copyright law. The transitional and supplementary provisions of the act provide that for
any work in which ad interim copyright was subsisting or capable of being secured on December 31,
1977, copyright protection would be extended for a term compatible with the other works in which
copyright was subsisting on the eective date of the new act. Consequently, if the work was rst
published on or aer July 1, 1977, and was eligible for ad interim copyright protection, the provisions
1
U. S. Copyright Office · Library of Congress · 101 Independence Avenue SE · Washington, DC 20559 · copyright.gov
CIRCULAR 22 REVIEWED: 10 /2016 REVISED: 2/2024
of the present copyright act will be applicable to the protection of these works. Anyone investigating
the copyright status of an English-language book or periodical rst published outside the United
States before July 1, 1977, should check carefully to determine:
• whether the manufacturing requirements were applicable to the work, and
• if so, whether the ad interim requirements were met
For Further Information
By Internet
The copyright law, the Compendium, electronic registration, application forms, regulations, and
related materials are available on the Copyright Oce website at
www.copyright.gov.
By Email
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By Telephone
For general information, call the Copyright Public Information Oce at (202) 707-3000 or
1-877-476-0778 (toll free). Sta members are on duty from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, eastern time,
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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 Oce
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SE #6304
Washington, DC 20559-6304
CIRCULAR 22 REVIEWED: 10 /2016 REVISED: 2/2024
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*: Copyright Oce fees are subject to change. For current fees for estimates or searches, check the Copyright Oce website
at
www.copyright.gov
, write the Copyright Oce, or call the Records, Research, and Certication Section at (202) 707-6850.
7
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