---
title: "Record the duration of copyright in an original work"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/record-the-duration-of-copyright-in-an-original-work"
type: "task"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A23-CO20261022-4"
practice_area: "Intellectual Property — Patents, Trade Marks, Copyright, Designs"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Record the duration of copyright in an original work

> For each work the lawyer names, record the year the work was made, the year it was first made public if it was, the year the author died if that year is known, whether the file describes the author as a person whose…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/record-the-duration-of-copyright-in-an-original-work  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Intellectual Property — Patents, Trade Marks, Copyright, Designs](https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | For each work the lawyer names, record the year the work was made, the year it was first made public if it was, the year the author died if that year is known, whether the file describes the author as a person whose identity is generally known, and whether the work is described as a computer program. Set those facts beside section 33. Do not choose a table item and do not state an expiry year. |
| What the lawyer must review | The lawyer chooses the table and the item. Section 33 has effect subject to Part VII, which was not opened. Subsection (2) is the table for a work first made public before 1 January 2019. Item 1, if no other item applies, is seventy years after the calendar year in which the author died. Item 2 is seventy years after the calendar year in which the work was first made public, where the work is a literary work other than a computer program, or a dramatic work, a musical work or an engraving, the author has died, the work was not first made public before the author died, and item 3 does not apply. Item 3 is seventy years after the calendar year of first being made public, where the author's identity is not generally known at any time before the end of seventy years after the calendar year in which the work was first made public. Subsection (3) is the table if the work was not first made public before 1 January 2019. Item 1 is again seventy years after the year of death if no other item applies. Item 2 is seventy years after the year the work was made, where the identity is not generally known before the end of seventy years after the year the work was made and the work is not first made public before the end of fifty years after that year. Item 3 is seventy years after the year first made public, where the identity is not generally known before the end of seventy years after that year and the work is first made public before the end of fifty years after the year it was made. The lawyer does not apply this section to a sound recording or a film. Those durations were not opened. |
| Written for / versions | 1 jurisdiction versions below |

## Checking plan

**Lawyer-led judgement**

The lawyer makes the substantive assessment. Any permitted AI assistance remains supporting work with its own checks.

- What the AI does: For each work the lawyer names, record the year the work was made, the year it was first made public if it was, the year the author died if that year is known, whether the file describes the author as a person whose identity is generally known, and whether the work is described as a computer program. Set those facts beside section 33. Do not choose a table item and do not state an expiry year.
- What the lawyer does: The lawyer chooses the table and the item. Section 33 has effect subject to Part VII, which was not opened. Subsection (2) is the table for a work first made public before 1 January 2019. Item 1, if no other item applies, is seventy years after the calendar year in which the author died. Item 2 is seventy years after the calendar year in which the work was first made public, where the work is a literary work other than a computer program, or a dramatic work, a musical work or an engraving, the author has died, the work was not first made public before the author died, and item 3 does not apply. Item 3 is seventy years after the calendar year of first being made public, where the author's identity is not generally known at any time before the end of seventy years after the calendar year in which the work was first made public. Subsection (3) is the table if the work was not first made public before 1 January 2019. Item 1 is again seventy years after the year of death if no other item applies. Item 2 is seventy years after the year the work was made, where the identity is not generally known before the end of seventy years after the year the work was made and the work is not first made public before the end of fifty years after that year. Item 3 is seventy years after the year first made public, where the identity is not generally known before the end of seventy years after that year and the work is first made public before the end of fifty years after the year it was made. The lawyer does not apply this section to a sound recording or a film. Those durations were not opened.
- Who reviews: Responsible lawyer with competence in the matter
- Basis: Practical workflow informed by the linked primary sources; the traffic light and working checks are editorial guidance, not a court or regulator classification.
- Why: The level reflects what the work is, the consequence of an error, and how much of the output the lawyer must independently re-derive.
- Restriction: The lawyer makes the substantive assessment. Any permitted AI assistance remains supporting work with its own checks.

## Checks the lawyer makes

1. Choose the subsection (2) table only if the work was first made public before 1 January 2019. Otherwise use subsection (3).
2. Do not treat a computer program as item 2 of the pre-2019 table. That item excludes a computer program from literary works.
3. Do not state an expiry year until the lawyer has chosen the item. The period runs from the end of a calendar year, not from a day inside the year.
4. Leave Part VII for the lawyer. The section says it is subject to that Part, and that Part was not opened.

## Notes

- These are suggested working checks. Confirm the required checking with the responsible lawyer before work starts; the checking approach does not establish permission to use AI.

## Sources

- [Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) s 33, duration of copyright in original works](https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ca1968133/s33.html) (checked 2026-10-22)

## Jurisdiction versions

| Jurisdiction | Level |
| --- | --- |
| [United States](https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/record-the-duration-of-copyright-in-an-original-work/united-states.md) | Yellow |

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*