Under US copyright law, what is the duration of copyright for works created by an individual after 1978?

Under US copyright law, the duration of copyright for works created by an individual after 1978 is the author’s life plus 70 years. This is the general rule for works created and fixed on or after January 1, 1978, under the Copyright Act as amended by the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998.

Copyright begins automatically when an original work is fixed in a tangible form, such as writing, recording, photography, or digital storage. Registration is not required to create copyright, although registration provides important enforcement benefits. After the term ends, the work generally enters the public domain.

The common mix-up is applying the individual-author rule to every type of work. Joint works last 70 years after the death of the last surviving author. Anonymous, pseudonymous, and works-made-for-hire generally last 95 years from first publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter. Older works can follow different transitional rules.