I re-read the Copyright Term Extension Act, and noticed that I missed a few subtleties with regards to works in the 1923 to 1978 range.
Short story:
- Works copyrighted in 1970 onwards have the same protection as works copyrighted in 1978 onwards.
- Works copyrighted in 1942 onwards that were renewed have the same protection as works copyrighted in 1978 onwards.
This act removed a large amount of work from the public domain.
Out of curiosity, I looked through Donald Westlake’s bilbiography.
NOTE: THIS IS NOT MEANT TO BE LEGAL COUNSEL UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
NOTE: Updated to reflect 1992 auto-renewal act.