User:Swtpc6800/Periodicals with expired copyright

Periodicals with expired copyright

Copyright catalogs at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC

Magazines and other periodicals published after 1923 and before 1964 needed to have the copyright renewed after 28 years or copyright was lost and the magazine is in the public domain. In this timeframe the initial copyright was for 28 years and could be renewed for another 28 years. The renewal was not automatic and required timely action by the copyright holder.

A large number of pre 1964 magazines have an expired copyright and are in the public domain. There are three principle reasons why copyright are not renewed.

1. The publisher as a matter of policy did not renew copyrights.
2. The publisher renews copyrights but overlooks some issues.
3. The publishing company ceased operations and no one attempted to renew copyrights.

William Ziff, Bernard Davis, and Hugo Gernsback were magazine publisher who did not renew the copyrights on their magazines. Virtually all of their magazines published before 1964 are in the public domain. You need to verify that this is the case before uploading to the commons. One way to do this is to travel to Washington, DC, go to the Copyright Office at the Library of Congress (room LM-404 of the James Madison building) and inspect the actual records. Fortunately the records are also online. The renewals after 1978 are in a database.

Time Magazine

Works copyrighted before 1964 had to have the copyright renewed sometime in the 28th year. If the copyright was not renewed the work is in the public domain. Time magazine was not diligent in renewing the copyrights of their early issues. The first renewal was filed in 1962 starting with the January 29, 1934 issue. Time failed to file any renewals in 1963, 1967 and 1972.

The following issues of Time magazine are in the public domain.

• March 3, 1923 to January 22, 1934.
• January 7, 1935 to June 29 1936.
• July 3, 1939 to May 13, 1940
• January 7, 1945 to January 29, 1945.

The table below shows the copyright registrations and renewals of issues up to 1946. The information is from the Catalog of Copyright Entries, published by the US Copyright Office. Online page scans can be found here: http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/cce/ Use the "Renewals for Periodicals" section near the bottom of each year.

Notes: Time magazine has two volumes of about 26 issues a year. The copyright records use a date format of day, month, year.

Renewal Year	Volume	Number	Issue	Copyright	Renewal
1962	23	5	29 Jan 1934	26 Jan 1934 B214218	25 Jan 1962 R289538
-	24	27	31 Dec 1934	28 Dec 1934 B246496	2 Feb 1962 R290021
1963	25	1	7 Jan 1935	NA	1963 None
-	27	23	29 Jun 1936	NA	1963 None
1964	28	1	6 Jul 1936	3 Jul 1936 B306035	2 Jul 1964 R340442
-	29	26	28 Jun 1937	25 Jun 1937 B342541	27 Oct 1964 R347559
1965	30	1	5 Jul 1937	2 Jul 1937 B343591	28 May 1965 R362618
-	31	26	27 Jun 1938	24 Jun 1938 B383181	5 Nov 1965 R372855
1966	32	1	4 Jul 1938	1 Jul 1938 B381891	15 Jun 1966 R387504
-	33	26	26 Jun 1939	22 Jun 1939 B421278	11 Jul 1966 R389156
1967	34	1	3 Jul 1939	NA	1967 None
-	35	20	13 May 1940	NA	1967 None
1968	35	21	20 May 1940	16 May 1940 B456211	2 Jan 1968 R426124
-	38	7	18 Aug 1941	14 Aug 1941 B509211	13 Nov 1968 R448117
1969	38	8	25 Aug 1941	21 Aug 1941 B509413	10 Jan 1969 R453485
-	40	15	12 Oct 1942	8 Oct 1942 B559908	29 Oct 1969 R471757
1970	40	16	19 Oct 1942	15 Oct 1942 B561315	28 Jan 1970 R478766
-	42	9	30 Aug 1943	26 Aug 1943 B598217	28 Aug 1970 R490503
1971	42	10	6 Sep 1943	2 Sep 1943 B598856	1 Jan 1971 R498608
-	45	1	1 Jan 1945	21 Dec 1944 B660596	3 Jan 1972 R520136
1972	45	2	7 Jan 1945	NA	1972 None
-	45	5	29 Jan 1945	NA	1972 None
1973	45	6	5 Feb 1945	1 Feb 1945 B663703	31 Jan 1973 R545536
-	47	25	24 Jun 1946	20 Jun 1946 B26468	23 Oct 1973 R561566

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Electronics Illustrated

Works copyrighted before 1964 had to have the copyright renewed sometime in the 28th year. If the copyright was not renewed the work is in the public domain. It is best to search 6 months before and after the required year. Some magazines are published the month before the cover date and some registrations may be delayed for a few months.

Electronics Illustrated was published starting in 1958 and the first renewal was be due in 1985. The renewal for the May 1958 issues was registered by the Copyright Office on January 3, 1986. (Registration Number RE0000280507). These records are online catalog found here: http://www.copyright.gov/records . Search for the title Electronics Illustrated.

The copyrights of Electronics Illustrated May 1958 through February 1960 were renewed by CBS Inc. In December 1987 the copyrights were assigned to Diamandis Communications, Inc. Diamandis renewed March 1960 through February 1961.

In the early 1980s the copyrights were owned by CBS and ever year someone renewed the 27 year old issues. In October 1987 Diamandis Communications did a leveraged butout of the CBS magazine division for $680 million. To reduce the debt they sold 7 magazines for $243 million. There was still someone sending in the copyright renewals. In April 1988, Hachette paid $712 million for Diamandis Communications. The last copyright renewal was that April. Peter Diamandis made millions. I assume the person who sent in the copyright renewals was looking for other work.

Benjamin, Daniel (April 25, 1988). "Publishing with A French Accent". TIME Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-09-22.

Dougherty, Philip (October 2, 1987). "Advertising: Diamandis Group at the Helm". New Your Times: D14.

Fabrikant, Geraldine (April 14, 1988). "Hachette to Buy Magazine Publisher". New Your Times: D1.

The March 1961 through January 1964 issues were not renewed and are in the public domain. The January issues were always published in the previous December.

The following list gives the copyright renewal registration number for each issue.

CBS Inc.

Vol. 1, no. 1, May 1958. RE0000280507

Vol. 1, no. 2, July 1958. RE0000280465

Vol. 1, no. 3, Sept. 1958. RE0000278450

Vol. 1, no. 4, Oct. 1958. RE0000280373

Vol. 1, no. 5, Nov. 1958. RE0000278442

Vol. 1, no. 6, Dec. 1958. RE0000279829

Vol. 2, no. 1, Jan. 1959. RE0000279843

Vol. 2, no. 2, Feb. 1959. RE0000356103

Vol. 2, no. 3, Mar. 1959. RE0000356110

Vol. 2, no. 4, Apr. 1959. RE0000356119

Vol. 2, no. 5, May 1959. RE0000356126

Vol. 2, no. 6, June 1959. RE0000356136

Vol. 2, no. 7, July 1959. RE0000356141

Vol. 2, no. 8, Aug. 1959. RE0000356179

Vol. 2, no. 9, Sept. 1959. RE0000356190

Vol. 2, no. 10, Oct. 1959. RE0000356154

Vol. 2, no. 11, Nov. 1959. RE0000356162

Vol. 2, no. 12, Dec. 1959. RE0000356071

Vol. 3, no. 1, Jan. 1960. RE0000356058

Vol. 3, no. 2, Feb. 1960. RE0000356061

Diamandis Communications, Inc.

Vol. 3, no. 3, Mar. 1960. RE0000369540

Vol. 3, no. 4, Apr. 1960. RE0000369549

Vol. 3, no. 5, May 1960. RE0000369555

Vol. 3, no. 6, June 1960. RE0000369572

Vol. 3, no. 7, July 1960. RE0000369583

Vol. 3, no. 8, Aug. 1960. RE0000369594

Vol. 3, no. 9, Sept. 1960. RE0000370159

Vol. 3, no. 10, Oct. 1960. RE0000370167

Vol. 3, no. 11, Nov. 1960. RE0000370176

Vol. 3, no. 12, Dec. 1960. RE0000370183

Vol. 4, no. 1, Jan. 1961. RE0000370202

Vol. 4, no. 2, Feb. 1961. RE0000370205

No later entries

Audio (magazine)

Works copyrighted before 1964 had to have the copyright renewed by the end of the 28th year. If the copyright was not renewed the work is in the public domain.

This edition of Audio magazine was published by Radio Magazines, Inc., of Mineola NY. CBS acquired the magazine and renewed the copyrights as they came due. (Vol. 43, no. 12, Dec. 1959 was renewed on Jan 30 1987, RE0000327376.) The magazine was later acquired by Diamandis Communications and they also renewed the copyrights. (Vol. 45, no. 1. Jan 1961 was renewed on April 11, 1988, RE0000370190.) The renewals stopped when the magazine was acquired by Hachette Filipacchi Médias in April 1988.

These records are in the online copyright catalog found here: http://www.copyright.gov/records .

• Dougherty, Philip (October 2, 1987). "Advertising: Diamandis Group at the Helm". The New York Times: p. D14.
• Fabrikant, Geraldine (April 14, 1988). "Hachette to Buy Magazine Publisher". The New York Times: p. D1.

The February 1961 through January 1964 issues were not renewed and are in the public domain. The January issues were always published in the previous December.