17 U.S.C. § 303 : US Code - Section 303: Duration of copyright: Works created but not published or copyrighted before January 1, 1978

Search 17 U.S.C. § 303 : US Code - Section 303: Duration of copyright: Works created but not published or copyrighted before January 1, 1978

(a) Copyright in a work created before January 1, 1978, but not
theretofore in the public domain or copyrighted, subsists from
January 1, 1978, and endures for the term provided by section 302.
In no case, however, shall the term of copyright in such a work
expire before December 31, 2002; and, if the work is published on
or before December 31, 2002, the term of copyright shall not expire
before December 31, 2047.
(b) The distribution before January 1, 1978, of a phonorecord
shall not for any purpose constitute a publication of the musical
work embodied therein.