From the US Copyright Office:
"Under the law in effect before 1978, copyright was secured either on the date a work was published or on the date of registration if the work was registered in unpublished form. In either case, the copyright lasted for a first term of 28 years from the date it was secured. The copyright was eligible for renewal during the last (28th) year of the first term. If renewed, the copyright was extended for a second term of 28 years.1 If not renewed, the copyright expired at the end of the first 28-year term. The term of copyright for works published with a year date in the notice that is earlier than the actual date of publication is computed from the year date in the copyright notice."
http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ15a.html
As to Bob's question below, there were some exceptions made, and copyrights were extended beyond their normal terms in some cases, plus Disney was probably wise enough to renew their copyrights every 28 years. That said, please consult an attorney--I don't play one on TV, or on the Internet, but I do Google fairly well.
Cheers, Rich
On Thursday, June 10, 2004, at 01:41 AM, wildimages@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
<<Since laws can't be made retroactive in the US you have nothing to fear
in>>
Is that true for copyright?
I thought that the copyright expiry of early Disney stuff was already expired
based on the laws (conventions?) at the tiem they were made.
What am I missing?
B
