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Term of Copyright Protection Extended by 20 Years

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The term of U.S. copyright protection was extended by the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, enacted in October 1998. The Act extends by 20 years the term of copyright in most works created on or after January 1, 1978, to include the life of the author plus 70 years after the author's death.

In works for hire and anonymous or pseudononymous works, the Act extends the term of protection to 95 years from the date of first publication or 120 years from the date of creation, whichever expires first.

In addition, the Act provides that the distribution of musical recordings before January 1, 1978, is not deemed "publication" of the musical compositions contained in the recording for purposes of infringement under the old Copyright Act of 1909, which required copyright notice on all published works.

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