U.S. Copyright Office, Copyright Basics (Circular 1) (p15 of 50)
NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT
 
     The use of a copyright notice is no longer required under U. S.
     law, although it is often beneficial. Because prior law did contain
     such a requirement, however, the use of notice is still relevant to
     the copyright status of older works.
 
     Notice was required under the 1976 Copyright Act. This requirement
     was eliminated when the United States adhered to the Berne
     Convention, effective March 1, 1989. Although works published
     without notice before that date could have entered the public
     domain in the United States, the Uruguay Round Agreements Act
     (URAA) restores copyright in certain foreign works originally
     published without notice. For further information about copyright
     amendments in the URAA, request [56]Circular 38b.
 
     The Copyright Office does not take a position on whether copies of
     works first published with notice before March 1, 1989, which are
     distributed on or after March 1, 1989, must bear the copyright
     notice.
 
       U.S. Copyright Office, Copyright Basics (Circular 1) (p9 of 50)
 
     Copyright protects "original works of authorship" that are fixed in
     a tangible form of expression. The fixation need not be directly
     perceptible so long as it may be communicated with the aid of a
     machine or device. Copyrightable works include the following
     categories:
     * (1) literary works;
     * (2) musical works, including any accompanying words
     * (3) dramatic works, including any accompanying music
     * (4) pantomimes and choreographic works
     * (5) pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
     * (6) motion pictures and other audiovisual works
     * (7) sound recordings
     * (8) architectural works
 
     These categories should be viewed broadly. For example, computer
     programs and most "compilations" may be registered as "literary
     works"; maps and architectural plans may be registered as
     "pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works."