Copyright from Beyond the Grave: William Faulkner Sues … Woody Allen?
How can Woody Allen infringe the copyright of William Faulkner, who has been dead since 1962? Wouldn’t Faulkner’s works be in the public domain? Turns out … no, and the case illustrates many aspects of copyright law basics. Whether or not Allen’s 2011 film, Midnight in Paris, actually infringed Faulkner’s copyright.
Copyright has expired for all works published in the United States before 1923. 1923 is significant because in 1998, 75 years after 1923, Congress amended the Copyright Act (the “Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act“) such that no new works would fall into the public domain until 2019. In 2019, public domain for works published in 1923 would kick in, with 1924 next, then 1925 and so on. In other words, as to all works from 1923 and later that had not already fallen in the public domain by 1998, copyrights were extended until at least 2019.
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