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The Yahoo! Copyright category leads straight to the U.S. Copyright Office. Sometimes, it pays to check with those in charge. First, here's a little primer about copyright. U.S. copyright law protects the author of an original work and allows the author exclusive right to reproduce, display, perform, and distribute copies of his or her work, as well as create derivative works. Copyright law applies to literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works, and it's applicable whether or not the work is published. If a work has multiple creators, the authors share the copyright
equally unless other arrangements are made in advance. The copyright for works created by an employee as part of their job or under a work-for-hire contract is owned by the employer. An author's copyright begins as soon as the work is created in a fixed form. How long copyright lasts depends on when the work was created. The Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 extended many copyrights by 20 years. Here are the details, straight from the Copyright Office FAQ: - For works created after January 1, 1978, copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. In the case of a joint work, copyright lasts for 70 years after the last surviving author's death. For anonymous and pseudonymous works and works made
for hire, copyright lasts 95 years from the year of first publication or 120 years from the year of creation, whichever ends first.
- For works created but not published or registered before January 1, 1978, copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years, but it will not expire earlier than December 31, 2002. If the work is published before December 31, 2002, copyright will not expire before December 31, 2047.
- For pre-1978 works still in their original or renewal term of copyright, copyright is extended to 95 years from the date that copyright was originally secured.
For more information, check out the PDF file of Circular 15a on the length of copyright protection. Of course, laws can change,
and some people oppose the Copyright Term Extension Act. Currently, this act is being challenged in a case that will be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court.
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