Below you will find general information on renewing a copyright through the U.S. Copyright Office. (Important note: Copyright renewal rules can vary widely depending on when the work was originally copyrighted. Get more specific information on Renewal of Copyright from the U.S. Copyright Office.)

Renewing a Copyright: Applicable Laws

The copyright law was amended in 1992 to make renewal automatic and renewal registration optional for works originally copyrighted between January 1, 1964, and December 31, 1977. While this amendment to the current law makes renewal registration optional for works copyrighted between January 1, 1964, and December 31, 1977, there are a number of incentives that encourage the filing of a renewal application. Learn more from the U.S. Copyright Office

Who May Claim Renewal?

The following persons may usually claim copyright renewal in all types of works:

1. The author, if living, may claim as the author.
2. If the author is dead, the widow or widower of the author, or the child or children of the author, or both, may claim as the widow of the author or the widower of the author and/or the child of the deceased author or the children of the deceased author.
3. If there is no surviving widow, widower, or child, and the author left a will, the author's executors may claim as the executors of the author.
4. If there is no surviving widow, widower, or child, and the author left no will or the will has been discharged, the next of kin may claim as the next of kin of the deceased author, there being no will.

There are exceptions to the above standards on who may claim renewal. Get more information from the U.S. Copyright Office.

Registering a Renewal Claim

Application for renewal registration must be filed on Form RE, which is supplied by the Copyright Office on request. It is also available from the Copyright Office Website at www.copyright.gov.

Renewal Fee

The filing fee for a renewal application is $60 as of May 2006. If several applications are submitted at the same time, a remittance for the total amount should accompany them. The fee for processing a renewal claim is nonrefundable, whether or not renewal registration is ultimately made.

Notice of Renewal of Copyright

The Copyright Office is frequently asked whether the notice of copyright should be changed on copies of a work issued during the renewal term. The copyright law is silent on this point, and the continued use of the original form of notice may therefore be considered appropriate. However, a notice that also refers to the fact of renewal might be regarded as more informative and, hence, preferable; for example:

Copyright 1998 FindLaw
Copyright Renewed 2006 by FindLaw

Effective Date of Registration

A renewal registration is effective on the date the Copyright Office receives all the required renewal elements in acceptable form, regardless of how long it then takes to process the application and mail the certificate of registration.