Legal Definitions - ad interim copyright

Ad interim copyright refers to a temporary, transitional form of copyright protection that was historically available in the United States. Its primary purpose was to provide limited, short-term protection for certain works first published outside the U.S. in the English language. This allowed the creator a specific window of time to formally register the work in the U.S. to secure full domestic copyright protection.

Essentially, it acted as a bridge, preventing immediate loss of rights in the U.S. for foreign-published English works before the creator could complete the more extensive U.S. registration process. This measure was particularly relevant before the widespread adoption of international copyright treaties, such as the Berne Convention, which significantly streamlined global copyright protection. Due to these international agreements and subsequent changes in U.S. copyright law, ad interim copyright is largely obsolete today.

• Example 1: A British Novel Published in the 1950s

  Imagine a British author who published her new novel in London in 1955. To ensure her work was protected in the lucrative U.S. market, she would have needed to apply for an ad interim copyright in the United States within a short period (e.g., 60 days) of its initial British publication. This temporary protection would then grant her a longer period (e.g., four months) to complete the full U.S. copyright registration process, which included depositing copies of the book with the U.S. Copyright Office.

  This example illustrates how a work first published abroad in English could receive immediate, albeit temporary, U.S. protection, giving the author time to fulfill the U.S. registration formalities for full, long-term copyright.

• Example 2: A Canadian Play Script in the 1960s

  In the 1960s, a Canadian playwright's new play premiered and was published in script form in Toronto. If the playwright wished to prevent American theater companies from immediately producing the play without permission while she arranged for a U.S. publisher and full U.S. copyright registration, she would have sought ad interim copyright. This temporary measure would have secured her rights in the U.S. during that crucial transitional period.

  This demonstrates the application of ad interim copyright to a different type of creative work (a play script) and highlights its role in providing a window of opportunity to secure U.S. rights after foreign publication.

• Example 3: An English-Language Magazine Article from Europe in the 1970s

  Consider an American journalist living in France who wrote an article about European politics, which was first published in an English-language magazine in Paris in 1970. To ensure that the article was protected in the U.S. and could not be freely reprinted by U.S. publications without permission, the journalist or the magazine publisher would have needed to apply for ad interim copyright shortly after its Paris publication. This temporary protection would then allow time for the formal U.S. copyright registration process to be completed.

  This example shows how ad interim copyright applied to shorter, periodical works and reinforces the concept of preventing unauthorized use during the period between foreign publication and full U.S. registration.