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grants a term of 75 years from publication or 100 years from creation (whichever expires first) in the cases of works made for hire, anonymous and pseudonymous works (as there is no known "life" to be measured in those cases). The bill extends those terms by 20 years, to 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever expires first. Section 302(e) of the current statute establishes a presumption with respect to an author's death: if a search of Copyright Office records made after 75 years from publication or 100 years ftx)m creation of a work does not disclose that the author died within the past 50 years, the author is presumed dead for at least 50 years and no infringement action will lie. The bill extends all those time periods by 20 years.
Subsection (c), Duration of 'Old Law" Works Which Had Not Been Published or Copyrighted Before January 1. 1978
Prior to January 1, 1978, state common law copyright for unpublished works was perpetual. The 1976 Copyright Act preempted such perpetual common law protection, and the perpetual term for unpublished works protected by common law on January 1, 1978 transformed to the life-plus-50-years (or other applicable) term for "new law" works. However, because some of those unpublished works were written by authors who had been dead for more than 50 years on January 1, 1978, it was thought unfair to thrust those works into the public domain immediately (which would have been the effect if the life-plus-50-year term were applied). Therefore, Section 303 of the current law gave those unpublished works a minimum of 25 years of protection (for a total of 50 years, the full post-mortem duration), until December 31, 2027. To keep this structure (in terms of half and full post-mortem duration), the bill would extend the first period by 10 years (to 35 years) and the second by 20 years (to 70 years).
Subsection (d). Duration of "Old Law" Works
The provisions dealing with the duration of "old law" worics are the most complex of the bill.
Subsection (d)(n. Copyright Renewal Act of 1992 Amendment
In 1992, Public Law No. 102-307 (the Copyright Renewal Act of 1992) amended the then-current Section 304(a) to make renewals of "old law' works automatic rather than dependent on timely filing of a renewal ^iplication. Section 102(2) of Title I of Public Law No. l(K-307 spoke of the effect of renewal "for a further term of 47 years' on grants of transfer or license made before the amendment went into effect. As the bill will make the renewal term 67 rather than 47 years, this provision of Public Law No. 102-307 is accordingly amended, to avoid any implication that a shorter term still applies to some older works.