How long is a copyright valid?

Answer 1

Assuming the material was created and first published after 1977, it would be 70 years for works authored by a person, 95 years after publication for corporate works and 120 years from creation of a corporate work, if that would be earlier than 95 years after publication.

For works prior to that, there are numerous dependencies including when it was created, when it was published, the nationality of the author, whether it was published abroad, whether the publication included copyright notices, whether the copyright was registered in the USA, and whether it was renewed. Works published prior to 1923 are in the public domain, as are works published prior to 1977 without proper copyright notice.

It varies by country but generally it is in effect for the life of the author plus 70 years.

Answer 2

Under US law copyright is generally valid for 70 years after the death or the original artist/creator. In the case of work-for-hire the term is usually 95 years post publication or 120 years past creation, whichever is shorter.

Answer 3

I can see two ways to answer this - how many years a copyright lasts and how many years in jail for copyright infringement. The latter question is pretty easy - copyrights fall under civil law rather than criminal law and thus there are no criminal penalties for infringement - such as jail time.

The more likely intent of the question is how long a copyright lasts. The answer to that is a little more involved because it varies from country to country. The concept of a "copyright" has its origins in British law, but has spread to most of the rest of the world. Copyright has grown from a legal concept regulating copying rights in the publishing of books and maps to one with a significant effect on nearly every modern industry, covering such items as sound recordings, films, photographs, software, and architectural works. In most countries a copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 50 to 70 years. Copyrights may be specific to one country or recognized reciprocally by other coutnries that are signatories to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (usually referred to as just "the Berne Convention"), an international agreement governing copyright, which was first accepted in Berne, Switzerland, in 1886.

The Berne Convention requires its signatories to recognize the copyright of works of authors from other signatory countries (known as members of the Berne Union) in the same way as it recognizes the copyright of its own nationals. The Berne Convention states that all works except photographic and cinematographic shall be copyrighted for at least 50 years after the author's death, but parties are free to provide longer terms. For Photography, the Berne Convention sets a minimum term of 25 years from the year the photograph was created, and for cinematography the minimum is 50 years after first showing, or 50 years after creation if it hasn't been shown within 50 years after the creation. Countries under the older revisions of the treaty may choose to provide their own protection terms, and certain types of works (such as phonorecords and motion pictures) may be provided shorter terms. If the author is unknown, because for example the author was deliberately anonymous or worked under a pseudonym, the Convention provides for a term of 50 years after publication ("after the work has been lawfully made available to the public"). However if the identity of the author becomes known, the copyright term for known authors (50 years after death) applies.

The European Union extended that to 70 years under the rationale that the original intent was to provide for protection for two generations past the original author and life expectancy had increased to more like 70 years rather that the 50 years that was more common in 1886. The duration of protection of related rights (those of performers, phonogram and film producers and broadcasting organizations) was set at fifty years with specific rules for calculating the starting date.

United States copyright law grants authors and artists the exclusive right to make and sell copies of their works, the right to create derivative works, and the right to perform or display their works publicly. These exclusive rights are subject to a time limit, and generally expire 70 years after the author's death.

In India, the copyright is sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the author dies for Photographs, Literary

dramatic, musical and artistic works. Copyright lasts for sixty years from the beginning of the calendar year next following the year in which the work is first published for anonymous and pseudonymous works, posthumous work, cinematograph films, sound records, government work, public undertakings work, and international organizations work.

Since this question was asked within the category of Computer Security Law it should be pointed out that most nations treat computer programs the same as written works and digital copies the same as physical copies of copyrighted works. The World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty, abbreviated as the WIPO Copyright Treaty or WCT, is an international treaty on copyright law adopted by the member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 1996. It provides additional protections for copyright deemed necessary due to advances in information technology since the formation of previous copyright treaties before it. It ensures that computer programs are protected as literary works (Article 4), and that the arrangement and selection of material in databases is protected (Article 5). It provides authors of works with control over their rental and distribution in Articles 6 to 8 which they may not have under the Berne Convention alone. It also prohibits circumvention of technological measures for the protection of works (Article 11) and unauthorized modification of rights management information contained in works (Article 12).

For a list of the length of copyrights in different countries of the world, see the attached related links.

Answer 4

The duration of copyright in these works is generally computed the same way as for works created on or after January 1, 1978: life plus 70 years or 95 or 120 years, depending on the nature of authorship. However, all works in this category are guaranteed at least 25 years of statutory protection.

Answer 5

Generally copyright protection extends through the life of the author plus 70 years.

Answer 6

Generally copyright protection extends for the lifetime of the creator plus 70 years

Answer 7

Under current US Copyright law protection will extend 70 years past the death of the aritst/photograher.

Answer 8

A copyright is good for ever. you should have learned that in school