Supplemental Copyright Information | Page 8

of 1987. In this
case, the term of copyright protection would be measured from the year
in the notice, and the expiration date would be 2082, 95 years from
1987.
Error in Name

When the person named in the notice is not the owner of copyright, the
error may be corrected by:
1. Registering the work in the name of the true owner;
*or*
2. Recording a document in the Copyright Office executed by the
person named in the notice that shows the correct ownership. Otherwise,
anyone who innocently infringes the copyright and can prove that he or
she was misled by the notice and obtained a transfer or license from the
person named in the notice may have a complete defense against the
infringement.
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MANDATORY DEPOSIT
All works under copyright protection and published in the United
States on or after March 1, 1989, are subject to mandatory deposit
whether published with or without a notice.
Works first published *before* March 1, 1989, are subject to
mandatory deposit if they were published in the United States with
notice of copyright. In general, within 3 months of publication in the
United States, the owner of copyright or of the exclusive right of
publication must deposit two copies (or, in the case of sound recordings,
two phonorecords) of the work in the Copyright Office for the use or
disposition of the Library of Congress.
The Copyright Office has issued regulations exempting certain
categories of works entirely from the mandatory de-posit requirements
and reducing the obligation for other categories. If copyright
registration is sought, the same deposit may be used for the mandatory
deposit and for registration. For further information about mandatory
deposit, request Circular 7d, "Mandatory Deposit of Copies or
Phonorecords for the Library of Congress."
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MORE INFORMATION
Information via the Internet: Frequently requested circulars,
announcements, regulations, other related materials, and all copyright
application forms are available via the Internet. You may access these
via the Copyright Office homepage at [http://www.loc.gov/copyright].
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 information about copyright, call the
Public Information Office at (202) 707-3000. The TTY number is (202)
707-6737. Information specialists are on duty in the Public Information
Office from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. eastern time, Monday through
Friday, 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 Copyright Office Public Information Office 101
Independence Avenue, S.E. Washington, D.C. 20559-6000
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REV: June 1999
Format Note: This electronic version has been altered slightly from the
original printed text for presentation on the World Wide Web. For a
copy of the original circular, consult the pdf version or write to
Copyright Office, 101 Independence Avenue S.E., Washington, D.C.
20559-6000.
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04/04/2000

*****
United States Copyright Office
Circular 15
Renewal of Copyright
===================================================
=====================
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IMPORTANT:
+ 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.
+ While this amendment to the current law makes renewal registration
optional for works copyrighted between January 1, 1964, and
December 31, 1977, there are a number of incentives that encourage the
filing of a renewal application, especially during the 28th year of the
copyright term.
+ Public Law 105-298, enacted on October 27, 1998, amended the
copyright law to add 20 years to the copyright term.
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------------------ THE RENEWAL SYSTEM ------------------
Under the 1909 copyright law, works copyrighted in the United States
before January 1, 1978, were subject to a renewal system in which the
term of copyright was divided into two consecutive terms. Renewal
registration, within strict time limits, was required as a condition of
securing the second term and extending the copyright to its maximum
length.
On January 1, 1978, the current copyright law (title 17 of the United

States Code) came into effect in the United States. This law retained
the renewal system for works that were copyrighted before 1978 and
were still in their first terms on January 1, 1978. For these works the
statute provides for a first term of copyright protection lasting for 28
years, with the possibility for a second term of 47 years. The 1992
amending legislation automatically secures this second term for works
copyrighted between January 1, 1964, and December 31, 1977.
+ If a copyright originally secured before January 1, 1964, was not
renewed at the proper time, copyright protection expired at the end of
the 28th calendar year of the copyright