THE DATE IN THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE

If you find a copyright notice, the date it contains may be important in
determining the copyright status of the work. In general, the notice on
works published before 1978 must include the year in which copyright was
secured by publication or, if the work was first registered for copyright
in unpublished form, the year in which registration was made. There are
two main exceptions to this rule.

1. For pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works (Classes F through K under
the 1909 law), the law permitted omission of the year date in the
notice.

2. For "new versions" of previously published or copyrighted works, the
notice was not usually required to include more than the year of first
publication of the new version itself. This is explained further under
"Derivative Works" below.

The year in the notice usually (though not always) indicated when the
copyright began. It is, therefore, significant in determining whether a
copyright is still in effect; or, if the copyright has not yet run its
course, the year date will help in deciding when the copyright is
scheduled to expire. For further information about the duration of
copyright, request Circular 15a, "Duration of Copyright." In evaluating
the meaning of the date in a notice, you should keep the following points
in mind:

WORKS PUBLISHED AND COPYRIGHTED BEFORE JANUARY 1, 1978: A work published
before January 1, 1978, and copyrighted within the past 75 years may
still be protected by copyright in the United States if a valid renewal