secured by publication or, if the work was first 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in unpublished form, the year in which registration was made.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 first
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, significant in determining whether a
copyright is still in effect; 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, request Circular 15a, "Duration of Copyright." 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 within the past 75 years may
still be protected by copyright in the United States if a valid renewal
registration was made during the 28th year of the first 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
first secured.

Therefore, the U.S. copyright in any work published or copyrighted prior
to January 1, 1923, has expired by operation of law, and the work has
permanently fallen into the public domain in the United States. For
example, on January 1, 1997, copyrights in works first published or
copyrighted before January 1, 1922, have expired; on January 1, 1998,
copyrights in works first published or copyrighted before January 1,
1923, have 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.

WORKS FIRST PUBLISHED OR COPYRIGHTED BETWEEN JANUARY 1, 1923, AND
DECEMBER 31, 1949, BUT NOT RENEWED: If a work was first published or
copyrighted between January 1, 1923, and December 31, 1949, it is
important to determine whether the copyright was