Copyright Renewal and the Public Domain: Untangling the Two Term System

29 questions on copyright renewal and the public domain, answered and cited by the UpLaw editorial team.

• Can an author assign the renewal term before it vests?
• Can you walk through a public-domain analysis on a real example?
• Did the Supreme Court allow Congress to pull works out of the public domain?
• Did the Supreme Court uphold retroactive copyright term extension?
• Does laches bar a stale claim about an old copyright?
• How did the 1909 Act's 28 + 28 system work?
• How do you determine whether a U.S. work is in the public domain?
• How do you file a copyright renewal registration today?
• How do you find out whether an old work was ever registered or renewed?
• What are the key takeaways on copyright renewal and the public domain?
• What did Stewart v. Abend decide about renewal and derivative works?
• What did the 1976 Copyright Act change about renewal?
• What did the Copyright Renewal Act of 1992 do?
• What did the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act do?
• What happens if the author dies before the renewal term vests?
• What is a “posthumous work” for renewal-vesting purposes?
• What is the 95-year ceiling for pre-1978 works?
• What is the derivative-works exception to termination?
• What is the difference between copyright renewal and termination of transfer?
• What is URAA copyright restoration?
• What was the copyright renewal trap?
• Who counts as an author's “children” for renewal purposes?
• Who files a renewal, and what must the form establish?
• Who is entitled to claim a renewal copyright?
• Why did American copyright once have two terms?
• Why does a repealed formality still matter to the culture economy?
• Why does foreign origin complicate a public-domain analysis?
• Why does registration matter for enforcing an old copyright?
• Why file a renewal registration if renewal is already automatic?