originally enacted in the 1976 Copyright Act (title 17, U.S. Code),
which took effect January 1, 1978, and the effect of the 1988 Berne
Convention Implementation Act, which amended the copyright law to make
the use of a copyright notice optional on copies of *works published on
and after March 1, 1989*. Specifications for the proper form and
placement of the notice are described in this circular.

Works published before January 1, 1978, are governed by the previous
copyright law. Under that law, if a work was published under the
copyright owner's authority without a proper notice of copyright, all
copyright protection for that work was permanently lost in the United
States.

The Uruguay Round Agreements Act of 1994 (URAA) (PL 103-465) modified
the effect of publication without notice for certain foreign works.
Under this Act, copyright is automatically restored, effective January
1, 1996, for certain foreign works placed into the public domain because
of lack of proper notice or noncompliance with other legal requirements.
Although restoration is automatic, if the copyright owner wishes to
enforce rights against reliance parties (those who, relying on the
public domain status of a work, were already using the work before the
URAA was enacted), he/she must either file with the Copyright Office a
Notice of Intent to Enforce the restored copyright or serve such a
notice on the reliance party.

For more information about the copyright notice under the law in effect
before January 1, 1978, request Circular 96 Section 202.2, "Copyright
Notice", from the Copyright Office. For more information about
restoration of copyright under the URAA, request Circular 38b,
"Highlights of Copyright Amendments Contained in the Uruguay Round