THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IS PROVIDED BY THE "LIBRARY OF CONGRESS COPYRIGHT OFFICE"- websiteThis information should not be considered up-to-date or fully conclusive, but is provided to give insight on the concerns you may have about your art or literary works. For more or updated information please contact the copyright office. WHO CAN CLAIM A COPYRIGHT "Copyright protection subsists from the time the work is created in fixed form. The copyright in the work of authorship immediately becomes the property of the author who created the work. Only the author or those deriving their rights through the author can rightfully claim copyright." PUBLICATION "Publication is no longer the key to obtaining federal copyright as it was under the Copyright Act of 1909. However, publication remains important to copyright owners. The 1976 Copyright Act defines publication as follows:
HOW LONG COPYRIGHT PROTECTION ENDURESWorks Originally Created on or after January 1, 1978"A work that is created (fixed in tangible form for the first time) on or after January 1, 1978, is automatically protected from the moment of its creation and is ordinarily given a term enduring for the author's life plus an additional 70 years after the author's death. In the case of "a joint work prepared by two or more authors who did not work for hire," the term lasts for 70 years after the last surviving author's death. For works made for hire, and for anonymous and pseudonymous works (unless the author's identity is revealed in Copyright Office records), the duration of copyright will be 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter." INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT PROTECTION "There is no such thing as an "international copyright" that will automatically protect an author's writings throughout the entire world. Protection against unauthorized use in a particular country depends, basically, on the national laws of that country. However, most countries do offer protection to foreign works under certain conditions, and these conditions have been greatly simplified by international copyright treaties and conventions. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION Information by fax: Circulars and other information (but not application forms) are available from Fax-on-Demand at (202) 707-2600. Information by telephone: For general information about copyright, call the Copyright Public Information Office at (202) 707-3000. The TTY number is (202) 707-6737. Information specialists are on duty from 8:30 a. m. to 5:00 p. m. Monday through Friday, eastern time, except federal holidays. Recorded information is available 24 hours a day. Or, if you know which application forms and circulars you want, request them from the Forms and Publications Hotline at (202) 707-9100 24 hours a day. Leave a recorded message." Information by regular mail: Write to: Library of Congress
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