ustrating what these provisions mean. For
works copyrighted for the first time on or after January 1, 1978, the
statutory provisions governing the duration of protection are quite
different and are not included in this circular. For general information
about duration of copyright under the current law, request Circular 15a,
"Duration of Copyright."

=============================================================
EFFECT OF 1976 COPYRIGHT LAW WITH AMENDMENTS OF 1992 AND 1998
=============================================================

The Copyright Act of October 1976 (Public Law 94-553, 90 Stat. 2541,
amending title 17 of the United States Code), effective January 1, 1978,
has been amended to extend the term of copyright on two subsequent
occasions with the passage of the Copyright Amendments Act of 1992
(Public Law 102-307, 10 6 Stat. 266, amending section 304 of title 17 of
the United States Code), and the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act
of 1998 (Public Law 105-298, 112 Stat. 2827, amending chapter 3 of title
17 of the United States Code).

Public Law 102-307, enacted on June 26, 1992, amended the copyright law
to make renewal automatic and renewal registration optional for works
originally copyrighted between January 1, 1964, and December 31, 1977.

Public Law 105-298, enacted on October 27, 1998, added an additional 20
years to the overall term of copyright protection.

--2--

+ COPYRIGHTS ALREADY IN THEIR SECOND TERM ON JANYARY 1, 1978: The
duration of the copyright term has automatically been prolonged to
last for a total of 95 years. No further renewal registration is
necessary.

+ COPYRIGHTS IN THEIR FIRST TERM ON JANUARY 1, 1978: Renewal registration
was still necessary to obtain the second term for works copyrighted
between January 1, 1950, and December 31, 1963. Renewal registration is
optional for works copyrighted between January 1, 1964, and December
31, 1977. In both cases, the renewal copyright is longer than the term
in effect before 1978. The renewal term extends the copyright for a
full term of 95 years.

================================================================
COPYRIGHTS IN THEIR SECOND TERM: AUTOMATIC EXTENSION OF DURATION
================================================================

RENEWED COPYRIGHTS AUTOMATICALLY EXTENDED TO MAXIMUM OF 95 YEARS

Under the statute, copyrights that had already been renewed and were in
their second term at a