Tree-view chart on Copyright Law

By clicking on the + and - boxes to open and close “branches” of the information “tree” embedded into this page, visitors can learn whether a particular work is covered by copyright in the United States.  Although focused on American law, the American copyright status of a foreign work can also be determined from the information in the tree-view chart.  Persons outside the United States wanting to know whether an American work is protected by copyright in their countries can use the information herein for that purpose, provided that such citizens know the manner and extent to which their countries respect American copyrights.  (Some countries provide American works with the same duration of protection as the United States provides its own works.  Other countries provide a different duration.  Citizen of countries other than the United States must determine this information from a source other than the CopyrightData.com web site, because that information is not covered here.  The preferred sources for such information are the web pages of a person’s own country covering such law.)

The most important determinant of whether a work enjoys United States copyright protection is the year that the work was created or first made public.  (These dates may be different — in some cases years apart — and users of this tree-view chart are urged to determine which is most applicable to determining the copyright status of the work.)  Likewise, for a work old enough that copyright renewal is required for copyright to achieve the maximum allowable number of years of coverage, the year that this requirement was met (or was not met) is the most vital determinant of whether copyright endures.  However, validity of copyright also depends on (or, in some cases, in the past depended on) proper copyright notice, paperwork registration rules, deposit requirements, and a few other matters.  This chart has users answer some of these questions before addressing the protection start date where it is efficient to do so.  Visitors to this site who expected to the first questions to answer would be questions based on the renewal year may find that some of the unexpected prelimary questions provide leads useful in discounting assumptions about whether the validity of a copyright.

Some visitors to this site already understand the rules concerning publication status, notice requirements, and registration, and may want to go directly on the tables and charts for checking the year of the work against its renewal requirements.  Such visitors can do so now by clicking here to go to the tables on renewal particulars.

Links for documentation on the tree-view chart come in two primary forms: 

1. links: These open a dedicated page of citations.  In effect, this is a page of footnotes.  The page will be positioned so that the citation for the specific item next to the link will be at the top of the page when you have the citation page open.  Generally, you will see citations to specific passages or statutes within the Copyright Act(s).  (“Copyright Acts” can be plural because this web site references the 1909, 1947 and 1976 Copyright Acts, as amended to the present.  Please read the notes at the bottom of the citation page for information helpful in selecting the relevant version of the Copyright Act for the work(s) you are researching.)  In addition to the citation to statute(s), or in some cases instead of, you will see additional comments.  Occasionally, there will be references to U.S. Government regulations or written policies other than the Copyright Acts passed by Congress.

2. links: These open another page on this web site.  The pages have far more information than just a citation and brief comments.  Most pages have citations for the relevant statutes and provide these for all three principle versions of Copyright Act under which a work may presently be covered by American law.  Where a particular subject was not covered by all three versions, a note will state this.  Documentation pages provide yet more: summaries of court decisions in the relevant area; quotations from statutes; quotations from other U.S. Government materials (Code of Federal Regulations, the Copyright Office’s internal Compendium of Copyright Office Practices, Copyright Office circulars intended for laymen); charts; pictorial illustrations.  Where a link takes you to a summary of a court decision on a particular case, you should assume that the issue was resolved by this court decision and not by pre-existing law.  However, you should scroll toward the top of the page to see which statutes are referenced, as the cited statutes will at the least provide some context for the court decision.  If you are new to court decisions, read the “green” section at the bottom of pages which contain summaries of court decisions.

This web page is set to open links in another tab or browser window.  You will not lose your place on this page by clicking a link — unless you click a link that repositions this page.  Such links specifically are worded to indicate that the visitor will be taken to a different location on this page.)
 

Use the table below to determine whether the medium which your work is in was eligible for copyright at the time of its creation or publication, then determine where on this chart to continue for further information. Type of work Year first eligible for copyright Notice requirement (1909-1977) Notice requirement (1978-1989) Notes Questions below to answer Books, published writings 1790 word, abbrev; year; name word, abbrev or symbol of ©; year; identity   1, 2, 3 Periodicals 1790 word, abbrev; year; name word, abbrev or symbol of ©; year; identity Originally considered “published writings”; in 1891, the law changed to specify that each volume of a periodical was to be regarded as one publication. 1, 2, 3 Unpublished manuscripts 1790 none (so long as it remains unpublished) none     Maps 1790 word, abbrev or symbol of ©; proprietor word, abbrev or symbol of ©; year; identity   1, 3 (also 2 if post-1977) Charts 1790 word, abbrev or symbol of ©; proprietor word, abbrev or symbol of ©; year; identity   1, 3 (also 2 if post-1977) Prints 1802 word, abbrev or symbol of ©; proprietor word, abbrev or symbol of ©; year; identity   1, 3 (also 2 if post-1977) Art works 1870 word, abbrev or symbol of ©; proprietor word, abbrev or symbol of ©; year; identity   1, 3, 5 (also 2 if post-1977) Greeting cards, postcards, utilitarian items, jewelry subsumed elsewhere see other relevant category(ies) word, abbrev or symbol of ©; identity [The year can be omitted only insofar as there is pictorial, graphic or sculptural matter.] In the 1909 Act, class (k) had been called “Prints and pictorial illustrations”; in the 1947 revision, there was added to this, “including prints or labels used for articles of merchandise”.   Music 1831 word, abbrev; year; name word, abbrev or symbol of ©; year; identity   1, 2, 3 Sound recordings 1972 symbol (); year; name or abbrev of owner. The phonorecord symbol (); year; identity Music, dramas, lectures, books, etc. heard on recordings had previously been copyrighted under those other classifications (and continued to be). 1, 2, 3 Plays, Dramatic compositions 1856 word, abbrev; year; name word, abbrev or symbol of ©; year; identity   1, 2, 3 Pantomimes, choreography unclear see other relevant category(ies) word, abbrev or symbol of ©; year; identity. [applies if published] The first explicit mention is in the 1976 Act, wherein these are item (4) of “works of authorship”.   lectures, sermons, addresses see “unpublished manuscripts”     These were first explicitly named in the 1909 Act, as item (c).   Photographs 1865 word, abbrev or symbol of ©; proprietor word, abbrev or symbol of ©; year; identity   1, 2, 3 Motion pictures 1912 Under the 1912 amendment, a minimum of word, abbrev; name. Where work also qualifies as a published dramatic work (true of most theatrical releases): word, abbrev; year; name.   word, abbrev or symbol of ©; year; identity Motion pictures copyrighted prior to 1912 had been registered under the “photographs” classification.  Works from 1912 to 1977 had been divided between “photoplays” (dramas) and “other than photoplays”. 1, 3, 4 (also 2 if post-1977, and also likely 1909-onward) Computer works 1980 N/A word, abbrev or symbol of ©; year; identity   1, 2, 3 Mask works 1984 N/A word, abbrev or symbol of ©; year; identity   1, 2, 3 Web pages, web sites subsumed in other categories N/A N/A; post-1989: rules depend upon category and publication status Copyright law does not address online distribution.  Current law defines publication as transfer of copies or phonorecords.  The Copyright Office gives latitude to claimant as to when and whether publication took place.  These guidelines are subject to change. 1, 2, 3   Key to the “Questions below to answer” column (in the above table): 1. Where “1” is indicated, answer the pertinent question below where the tree-view chart reads: “If the category of your work requires the date on the copyright notice …” 2. Where “2” is indicated, answer below the question: “Does the notice give as the name of the claimant a party who is not the owner of copyright?” 3. Where “3” is indicated, answer below the question: “Was the work registered in the name of the true owner?” 4. Where “4” is indicated, answer below the question: “Is the work a motion picture?” 5. Where “5” is indicated, answer below the question: “Is the work an artwork?”   Explanation of terms used in the above chart: “word, abbrev or symbol of ©” indicates that the notice must have one of the following: “Copyright”, “Copr.” or “©”. “proprietor” herein is short for “initials, monogram, mark, or symbol of the copyright proprietor”.  Where something less than the name is used in the notice, that name must appear on some accessible portion of the work (e.g., the base or pedestal). “name” herein means “name of the copyright proprietor”. “identity” means the name or “an abbreviation by which is the name can be recognized, or a generally known alternative designation of the owner.” “year” means the year of publication.