How do you check for copyright protection?

Answer 1

The best resource for determining copyright term is the Hirtle chart, maintained at Cornell. http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/public_domain/ Another source is the Copyright Office. http://www.copyright.gov At the copyright office page, click on "search copyright information," then click "search the catalog." Note that this only includes materials from 1978 forward. See the "search copyright information" page for instructions on searching pre-1978 records.

Answer 2

It depends what country you're in, what country the work was produced in, the type of work, and more. In the US, the only easy way is to deal with works published in the US prior to 1923; otherwise, you've got a lot of research ahead of you.

Answer 3

Look for a notification on or in the materials: on the reverse of the title page of a book, or embedded in the metadata of a digital file.