registration is optional and if timely made, entitles the claimant to a
presumption of validity and other advantages.

+ Works in the public domain cannot be protected by copyright. The 1976
Act, the 1992 amendment, and the 1998 amendment do not provide a
procedure for restoring protection for works in which copyright has
been lost for any reason.

+ Exception: Under the provisions of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act
(URAA), certain foreign works whose U.S. copyright protection had been
lost because of non-compliance with formalities of U.S. law were
restored as of January 1, 1996. Such works may be registered using Form
GATT. For more information, request Circular 38b, "Highlights of
Copyright Amendments Contained in the Uruguay Round Agreements Act
(URAA-GATT)."

+ A work published before January 1, 1964, and originally copyrighted
within the past 75 years may still be protected by copyright if a valid
renewal registration was made during the 28th year of the first term of
the copyright. If renewed and if still valid under the other provisions
of the law, the copyright will now expire 95 years from the end of the
year in which it was first secured. Works published before January 1,
1923, have fallen into the public domain, but works published after
that date could still be protected by copyright if the copyright was
renewed by registration or automatically by law under Public Law
102-307.



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