Duration of the copyright term Life of the author plus 50 years, the Bono Bill has extended this to 75 years or For anonymous works, pseudonymous works, and works for hire, the shorter of 75 years from publication or 100 years from creation. Notice Notice is optional, the copyright symbol affixed to the work is not mandatory, reducing the idea to a tangible form establishes the copyright. To bring the United States into conformity with the Berne Convention, Congress eliminated the mandatory notice requirement for works published on or after March 1, 1989. Inc. Formal Registration Registration with the Copyright Office is not mandatory. In the case of Computer programs the first five and last five pages of the programs code.
Registration is a prerequisite to suit and to the recovery of statutory damages and attorneys' fees.