registration was made during the 28th year of the first term of the
copyright. If renewed by registration or under the Copyright Renewal Act
of 1992 and if still valid under the other provisions of the law, the
copyright will expire 95 years from the end of the year in which it was
first secured.

Therefore, the U.S. copyright in any work published or copyrighted prior
to January 1, 1923, has expired by operation of law, and the work has
permanently fallen into the public domain in the United States. For
example, on January 1, 1997, copyrights in works first published or
copyrighted before January 1, 1922, have expired; on January 1, 1998,
copyrights in works first published or copyrighted before January 1,
1923, have expired. Unless the copyright law is changed again, no works
under protection on January 1, 1999 will fall into the public domain in
the United States until January 1, 2019.

WORKS FIRST PUBLISHED OR COPYRIGHTED BETWEEN JANUARY 1, 1923, AND
DECEMBER 31, 1949, BUT NOT RENEWED: If a work was first published or
copyrighted between January 1, 1923, and December 31, 1949, it is
important to determine whether the copyright was renewed during the last
(28th) year of the first term of the copyright. This can be done by
searching the Copyright Office records or catalogs as explained
previously. If no renewal registration was made, copyright protection
expired permanently at the end of the 28th year of the year date it was
first secured.

WORKS FIRST PUBLISHED OR COPYRIGHTED BETWEEN JANUARY 1, 1923, AND
DECEMBER 31, 1949, AND REGISTERED FOR RENEWAL: When a valid renewal
registration was made and copyright in the work was in its second term on
December 31, 1977, the renewal copyright term was extended under the