copyright protection in this country. These categories are described in Sections 2003.2[A] through 2003.2(F).
2003.2(A) Eligibility Based on Nationality or Domicile
Section 104(b)(1) of the Copyright Act protects foreign works if, upon the work's first publication, one or more author(s) of a foreign work (i) is a national or domiciliary of the United States, (ii) is a national, domiciliary, or sovereign authority of a treaty party; or (iii) is a stateless person wherever that person is domiciled.
A "sovereign authority" is a governmental agency or subdivision of a foreign nation, such as a ministry of the government of Norway or a province of Canada. A "stateless person" is a person who has no nationality, either as the result of never having acquired nationality in any nation, or as the result of having effectively renounced or having been deprived of his or her former nationality without having, as yet, become a national of another nation.
Chapter 1900 generally discusses the concept of when a work is published. The concept of "first publication" is further defined in Section 104(b) of the Copyright Act, which explains that "a work that is published in the United States or a treaty party within thirty days after publication in a foreign nation that is not a treaty party shall be considered to be first published in the United States or such treaty party, as the case may be."
This means that a foreign work may be eligible for copyright protection in a wide variety of cases. Aside from U.S. nationals and domiciliaries, authors who are nationals or domiciliaries of any treaty party at the time of first publication can obtain U.S. protection for their foreign works. As discussed in Section 2004, the United States has treaty relations with all but a handful of countries, meaning that the majority of foreign works will be eligible for protection under Section 104(b) of the Copyright Act.
2003.2(B) Eligibility Based on Location of First Publication
Section 104(b)(2) of the Copyright Act affords protection to all works that are first published in (i) the United States or (ii) a foreign nation that, on the date of the first publication, is a treaty party. In other words, regardless of the nationality or domicile of the author(s), a work may be eligible for protection under the Copyright Act if it is first published in the United States or in any nation that has a relevant treaty with the United States at the time of the first publication. For more information on which countries are treaty partners, see Section 2004.
2003.2(C) Eligibility for Sound Recordings
Section 104(b)(3) of the Copyright Act provides for protection for sound recordings that were first fixed in a treaty party. A "fixed" sound recording is one that has been embodied in a phonorecord and is sufficiently permanent or stable to permit it to be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated for a period of more than transitory duration. 17 U.S.C. § 101 (definition of "fixed"). For more information on fixation, see Chapter 300, Section 305 and Chapter 800, Section 803.4.
Chapter 2000 : 6
12/22/2014
