90 STAT. 2572
PUBLIC LAW 94-553—OCT. 19, 1976 Chapter 3. - - D U R A T I 0 N O F Sec. 301. 302. 303. 304. 305.
COPYRIGHT
Preemption with respect to other laws. Duration of copyright: Works created on or after January 1, 1978. Duration of copyright: Works created but not published or copyrighted before January 1, 1978. Duration of copyright: Subsisting copyrights. Duration of copyright: Terminal date.
17 USC 301,
§ 301. Preemption with respect to other laws (a) O n and after January 1, 1978, all legal or equitable rights that are equivalent to any of the exclusive rights within the general scope of copyright as specified by section 106 in works of authorship that are fixed in a tangible medium of expression and come within the subject matter of copyright as specified by sections 102 and 103, whether created before or after that date and whether published or unpublished, are governed exclusively by this title. Thereafter, no person is entitled to any such right or equivalent r i g h t in any such work under the common law or statutes of any State. (b) Nothing in this title annuls or limits any rights or remedies under the common law or statutes of any State with respect to— (1) subject m a t t e r that does not come within the subject matter of copyright as specified by sections 102 and 103, including works of authorship not fixed in any tangible medium of expression; or (2) any cause of action arising from undertakings commenced before January 1, 1978; or (3) activities violating legal or equitable rights that are not equivalent to any of the exclusive rights within the general scope of copyright as specified by section 106. (c) W i t h respect to sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972, any rights or remedies under the common law or statutes of any State shall not be annulled or limited by this title until February 15, 2047. The preemptive provisions of subsection (a) shall apply to any such rights and remedies pertaining to any cause of action arising from undertakings commenced on and after February 15, 2047. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 303, no sound recording fixed before February 15, 1972, shall be subject to copyright under this title before, on, or after February 15, 2047. (d) Nothing in this title annuls or limits any rights or remedies under any other Federal statute.
17 USC 302.
§ 302. Duration of copyright: Works created on or after January 1, 1978 (a) IN GENERAL.—Copyright in a work created on or after January 1, 1978, subsists from its creation and, except as provided by the following subsections, endures for a term consisting of the life of the author and fifty years after the author's death. (b) JOINT W O R K S. — I n the case of a joint work prepared by two or more authors who did not work for hire, the copyright endures for a term consisting of the life of the last surviving a u t h o r and fifty years after such last surviving author's death. (c) ANONYMOUS W O R K S, PSEUDONYMOUS W O R K S, AND W O R K S MADE
FOR H I R E. — I n the case of an anonymous work, a pseudonymous work, or a work made for hire, the copyright endures for a term of seventyfive years from the year of its first publication, or a term of one hundred years from the year of its creation, whichever expires first. If, before the end of such term, the identity of one or more of the authors of an anonymous or pseudonymous work is revealed in the records of a registration made for that work under subsections (a) or (d) of section 408, or in the records provided by this subsection,
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