Re: literature copyright laws and public domain

On 03/01/2000, Rod Dixon <rod[_at_]cyberspaces.org> wrote:
>
> Yes, in addition to the date of authorship, the date of first
> publication may be relevant to the determination of the duration
> of copyright, but this generally relates to works created but not
> published before 1978. (I do not if the specific works referred
> to by Poe fit this class of works). see 17 USC 303

I beg to differ. The date of first publication is relevant to the duration of works published before 1978, because that was the date from which copyright was measured under the 1909 Act. [See 17 USC 304] For works which were created but not published before 1978, and works which were created in 1978 or later, the date of first publication is also relevant for anonymous and pseudonymous works and works made for hire only. [sec. 302(c), sec. 303]

Tyler T. Ochoa
Associate Professor
Whittier Law School
<tochoa[_at_]law.whittier.edu> Received on Thu Mar 02 2000 - 23:01:43 GMT