Copyright Flow Chart

Copyright in a work can expire under U.S. law, but remain valid under the law of another country. Thus, if you make use of a work in another country or on the Internet you may be subject to liability under the laws of a foreign country, even though the work has entered the public domain in the U.S. This copyright flow chart is very handy at helping people understand their options in this process.

Under current law, foreign authors from most countries are accorded the same exclusive rights under U.S. copyright law as they would have if they were U.S. citizens.
Under the 1909 Act, works of foreign authors entered the public domain by virtue of being first published in the U.S. before January 1, 1978, unless they qualified for protection under some other basis, which many did.

Works by foreign authors that were first published abroad before January 1, 1978 similarly entered the public domain unless they qualified for protection under some other basis, but copyright in such works, if lost due to lack of national eligibility, was later restored if the work was not in the public domain in the country of first publication and if certain other requirements were met. (The same law restored the copyright in foreign works that entered the public domain due to other reasons, including publication without notice of copyright before March 1, 1989, or failure to renew U.S. registration when such renewals were necessary.)

For more pointers on effective use of copyright, click here.