headsetsdotcom...
Here's the law, as documented by the US Copyright Office:
"HOW LONG COPYRIGHT PROTECTION ENDURES"
"Works Originally Created on or after January 1, 1978"
"A work that is created (fixed in tangible form for the
first time) on or after January 1, 1978, is automatically
protected from the moment of its creation and is ordinarily
given a term enduring for the author's life plus an
additional 70 years after the author's death. In the case
of "a joint work prepared by two or more authors who did
not work for hire," the term lasts for 70 years after the
last surviving author's death. For works made for hire, and
for anonymous and pseudonymous works (unless the author's
identity is revealed in Copyright Office records), the
duration of copyright will be 95 years from publication or
120 years from creation, whichever is shorter."
"Works Originally Created before January 1, 1978, But Not
Published or Registered by That Date"
"These works have been automatically brought under the
statute and are now given federal copyright protection.
The duration of copyright in these works will generally
be computed in the same way as for works created on or
after January 1, 1978: the life-plus-70 or 95/120-year
terms will apply to them as well. The law provides that
in no case will the term of copyright for works in this
category expire before December 31, 2002, and for works
published on or before December 31, 2002, the term of
copyright will not expire before December 31, 2047."
"Works Originally Created and Published or Registered
before January 1, 1978"
"Under the law in effect before 1978, copyright was
secured either on the date a work was published with
a copyright notice or on the date of registration if
the work was registered in unpublished form. In either
case, the copyright endured for a first term of 28
years from the date it was secured. During the last
(28th) year of the first term, the copyright was
eligible for renewal. The Copyright Act of 1976
extended the renewal term from 28 to 47 years for
copyrights that were subsisting on January 1, 1978,
or for pre-1978 copyrights restored under the Uruguay
Round Agreements Act (URAA), making these works
eligible for a total term of protection of 75 years.
Public Law 105-298, enacted on October 27, 1998,
further extended the renewal term of copyrights still
subsisting on that date by an additional 20 years,
providing for a renewal term of 67 years and a total
term of protection of 95 years."
"Public Law 102-307, enacted on June 26, 1992, amended
the 1976 Copyright Act to provide for automatic
renewal of the term of copyrights secured between
January 1, 1964, and December 31, 1977. Although the
renewal term is automatically provided, the Copyright
Office does not issue a renewal certificate for these
works unless a renewal application and fee are
received and registered in the Copyright Office."
"Public Law 102-307 makes renewal registration optional.
Thus, filing for renewal registration is no longer
required in order to extend the original 28-year
copyright term to the full 95 years. However, some
benefits accrue from making a renewal registration
during the 28th year of the original term."
"For more detailed information on renewal of copyright
and the copyright term, request Circular 15, 'Renewal
of Copyright'; Circular 15a, 'Duration of Copyright';
and Circular 15t, 'Extension of Copyright Terms.'"
http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html#hlc
Here's a simpler chart, with the same information, by
Lolly Gasaway at the University of North Carolina:
http://www.unc.edu/~unclng/public-d.htm
Almost every link resulting from this search, for
["20 years" "public domain"] bemoans the addition
of 20 years to the already generous period of protection:
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%2220+years%22+%22public+domain%22
I, like yourself, had heard the concept that songs
entered the public domain after 20 years, and were
then available for use in compilations on CD/cassette.
I searched for hours, looking for any indication that
Time Life can produce the music of two decades ago
with no royalty payments, and came up dry.
The only hint of such a short period is implied in this
article in Reason Online Magazine, by Jesse Walker:
"At the dawn of the republic, copyrights lasted for
just 14 years and could be renewed for another 14.
This period has been gradually extended, especially
lately: It has been lengthened 11 times in the last
40 years, most recently by the Sonny Bono Copyright
Term Extension Act of 1998."
http://reason.com/0003/fe.jw.copy.shtml
This implies that, at some time in the last 40 years,
the period of protection was greater than 14 years,
and perhaps equal to 20 years - but that time has
come and gone.
Searches done, via Google:
"copyright expiration" books music "20 years"
://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=%22copyright+expiration%22+books+music+%2220+years%22
"20 year" "copyright expiration"
://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=%2220+year%22+%22copyright+expiration%22
"20 years" "public domain"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%2220+years%22+%22public+domain%22
"Time Warner" CDs "20 year" "public domain"
://www.google.com/search?num=50&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&q=%22Time+Warner%22+CDs+%2220+year%22+%22public+domain%22
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