New Resource: Copyright Renewal Database
From the web site:

This database makes searchable the copyright renewal records received by the US Copyright Office between 1950 and 1993 for books published in the US between 1923 and 1963. Note that the database includes ONLY US Class A (book) renewals.

The period from 1923-1963 is of special interest for US copyrights, as works published after January 1, 1964 had their copyrights automatically renewed by the 1976 Copyright Act, and works published before 1923 have generally fallen into the public domain. Between those dates, a renewal registration was required to prevent the expiration of copyright, however determining whether a work’s registration has been renewed is a challenge. Renewals received by the Copyright Office after 1977 are searchable in an online database, but renewals received between 1950 and 1977 were announced and distributed only in a semi-annual print publication. The Copyright Office does not have a machine-searchable source for this renewal information, and the only public access is through the card catalog in their DC offices.

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See Also: US Copyright Office Circular 22 – How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work

See Also: Project Gutenberg Titles by United States Copyright Office

Sources: Stanford University Libraries (via LJ article), Online Books Page

This entry was posted on Friday, May 4th, 2007 and is filed under Databases, Directories, and Guides, Intellectual Property, Libraries and Librarianship, Source File. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.