Copyright in the networked world: copyright status facts

Pages99-103
Date01 March 2001
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/07378830110733919
Published date01 March 2001
AuthorMichael Seadle
Subject MatterInformation & knowledge management,Library & information science
Copyright in the
networked world:
copyright status facts
Michael Seadle
Facts that matter
Libraries tend to make assumptions about
copyright. In the USA in particular, the
assumption is that any work published since
1923 has copyright protection. People debate
fair use, educational exemptions, and
problems with getting permissions, but neglect
to check the facts about whether a particular
work genuinely qualifies for protection. For
some works, this makes sense. Any original
work created since 1989 in the USA has
automatic protection from the moment of
fixation, regardless of registration, copyright
notification, or any other formalities. But
earlier works do not. Even works published
between 1978 and 1988 could lose their
copyright protection under certain
circumstances.
This article is about how to discover key facts
about the copyright status of a work using
Copyright Office publications and the records
of the Copyright Office itself. The value of such
research varies with the particular work and its
date of publication, and the techniques apply
only to published works. All unpublished works
have statutory protection until at least 2002 for
even the oldest items.
The bottom line is that a work that a library
wants to reproduce digitally or which a faculty
member wants to use on a course Website
might well be in the public domain. And it
might be in the public domain despite what
putative rights holders claim. Too often
corporate permissions offices assume ownership
rights which they may never have checked and
might have trouble proving.
Periods that matter
Exactly which facts matter depends on the
publication date. Because of the 1909,
1976, 1988, and 1992 changes to the US
copyright law, there are four distinct periods to
consider.
1923 to 1963
Works published in the USA between 1923 and
1963 not only required a copyright notice on
the work, but also registration and renewal. The
first and easiest fact to check is whether a notice
The author
Michael Seadle is Editor of
Library Hi Tech
. He is also
Digital Services and Copyright Librarian at Michigan State
University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA. E-mail:
seadle@mail.lib.msu.edu
Keywords
Copyright, USA
Abstract
Libraries tend to make assumptions about copyright. The
assumption is that any work published since 1923 has
copyright protection. This article is about how to discover
key facts about the copyright status of a work using
Copyright Office publications and the records of the
Copyright Office itself. One question for libraries is whether
it is worth the time and trouble to check the Copyright Office
records. This depends both on the value of pursuing
particular projects, and on how likely it is that a particular
type of work fell into public domain through some failure to
comply with all the legal formalities. A few preliminary
statistics are provided.
Electronic access
The research register for this journal is available at
http://www.mcbup.com/research_registers
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is
available at
http://www.emerald-library.com/ft
On copyright
99
Library Hi Tech
Volume 19 .Number 1 .2001 .pp. 99±103
#MCB University Press .ISSN 0737-8831

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