There are hundreds of copyright disputes going on at this second. The vast majority are settled long before they get to court.
It should be in the edition notice, also known as the copyright page, on the reverse of the title page.
It varies from country to country, and also by your definition of a copyright law. In the US, in the strictest terms, the most recent copyright act was in 1976; however there is almost a steady stream of legislation that affects copyright.
For bibliographic citation, you would want to use the most recent date.
It varies from country to country. The most recent major change in US law was 1998.
Sue them.
Newer model CD duplicators yes. Most however, are not equiped for these protections.
It varies from country to country. The most recent US legislation was the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010.
No, but recent translations may.
No, but recent translations may be.
"Vintage" is an ambiguous term. If by vintage you mean prior to 1923 then in most cases the material will reside in the public domain. However if the material is more recent you will have to determine who the holder of copyright is, and then contact them for the proper permission.
In the US the Copyright act is titled "Copyright Law of the United States" and is contained in Title 17 of the United States Code. The most recent major revision is the Copyright Act of 1976 however there have been significant amendments since that date. Of these, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998, The Copyright Royalty and Distribution Reform Act of 2004, and the Intellectual Property Protection and Courts Amendments Act of 2004 are the most noteworthy.
Copyright is automatically owned. 'Registering' a copyright simply adds it to a searchable database, which has several advantages like being able to prove ownership of the copyright in case of a dispute. However, a work is only public domain if the copyright owner specifically declares it as such.