on phonorecords of a sound recording. Moreover, for works first published
on or after January 1, 1978, through February 28, 1989, omission of the
required notice, or use of a defective notice, did not result in
forfeiture or outright loss of copyright protection. Certain omissions
of, or defects in, the notice of copyright, however, could have led to
loss of copyright protection if steps were not taken to correct or cure
the omissions or defects. The Copyright Office has issued a final
regulation (37 CFR 201.20) that suggests various acceptable positions for
the notice of copyright. For further information, write to the Copyright
Office and request Circular 3, "Copyright Notice", and Circular 96,
Section 201.20, "Methods of Affixation and Positions of the Copyright
Notice on Various Types of Works."


Works Already in the Public Domain

Neither the 1976 Copyright Act, the Berne Convention Implementation Act
of 1988, the Copyright Renewal Act of 1992, nor the Sonny Bono Copyright
Term Extension Act of 1998 will restore protection to works that fell
into the public domain before the passage of the laws. However, the North
American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (NAFTA) and the Uruguay
Round Agreements Act (URAA) may restore copyright in certain works of
foreign origin that were in the public domain in the United States. Under
the copyright law in effect prior to January 1, 1978, copyright could be
lost in several situations. The most common were publication without the
required notice of copyright, expiration of the first 28-year term
without renewal, or final expiration of the second copyright term. The
Copyright Renewal Act of 1992 automatically renews first term copyrights
secured between January 1, 1964, and December 31, 1977.