The Life of a Copyright
The copyright Law is specific about the amount of time copyright protections lasts. Copyrighted works are protected from the moment of their creation. Below are three formulas to help determine the term of copyright protection:
Works created or published on or after January 1, 1978 are protected during the life of the author, plus 70 years after the author’s death.
For works published before January 1, 1978, the life of the copyright is 28 years, with an option to renew for an additional 67 years for a total life span of 95 years. Contact the Copyright office for information about renewed copyrights.
For works made for hire, and for anonymous and pseudonymous works, the duration of copyright is 120 years from creation or 95 years from publication.