Hi David,

Here's your answer:

For works created before 1978, but not published or registered before 1978,
the standard §302 copyright duration[*clarification needed
<https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Please_clarify>*] also applies.
Prior to 1978, works had to be published or registered to receive copyright
protection. Upon the effective date of the 1976 Copyright Act (which was
January 1, 1978) this requirement was removed and these unpublished,
unregistered works received protection. However, Congress intended to
provide an incentive for these authors to publish their unpublished works.
To provide that incentive, these works, if published before 2003, would not
have their protection expire before 2048.[*citation needed
<https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed>*]

All copyrightable works published in the United States before 1923 are in
the public domain <https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain>;[38]
<https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_law_of_the_United_States#cite_note-38>
works
created before 1978 but not published until recently[*when?
<https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Dates_and_numbers#Chronological_items>*
] may be protected until 2047.[39]
<https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_law_of_the_United_States#cite_note-39>
For
works that received their copyright before 1978, a renewal had to be filed
in the work's 28th year with the Copyright Office for its term of
protection to be extended. The need for renewal was eliminated by the Copyright
Renewal Act of 1992
<https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_Renewal_Act_of_1992>, but works
that had already entered the public domain by non-renewal did not regain
copyright protection. Therefore, works published before 1964 that were not
renewed are in the public domain.
Cheers!
Dave

David Harvey
Senior Conservator & Museum Consultant
Los Angeles CA. USA
www.cityofangelsconservation.weebly.com

On Mon, Apr 2, 2018, 1:32 PM David Haynes <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Copyright Guys,
>
> Am I correct in remembering that prior to the 1978 law, items were
> copyrighted only if they were registered and carried a copyright notice? If
> this is the case, then my guess is that 99% of photographs taken before
> that date are in the public domain. The ugliest fly in this otherwise
> pleasant ointment is that the pre-1978 law refers to published works. I am
> not aware of any court cases that define 'published' as it applies to
> regular photographs. Happy trials, David
>
>
> David Haynes    [log in to unmask]    San Antonio
>
> =========================================================
> Important Subscriber Information:
>
> The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
> http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
> information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail
> message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should
> read "help" (without the quotes).
>
> If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to
> [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read
> "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
>

=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:

The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).

If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).