---
title: "Record the facts section 302 uses for a copyright term"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/record-the-duration-of-copyright-in-an-original-work/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A23-CO20261022-4-US"
practice_area: "Intellectual Property — Patents, Trade Marks, Copyright, Designs"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Record the facts section 302 uses for a copyright term

> Record the year the work was made, the year of first publication if the file states it, the year of the author's death if the file states it, whether the author's identity is generally known, and whether the file…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/record-the-duration-of-copyright-in-an-original-work/united-states  
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 | Record the year the work was made, the year of first publication if the file states it, the year of the author's death if the file states it, whether the author's identity is generally known, and whether the file describes a joint work or a work made for hire. Do not state an expiry year and do not apply a presumption about the author's death. |
| What the lawyer must review | For a work created on or after 1 January 1978, section 302(a) says copyright subsists from creation and, except as the following subsections provide, endures for the life of the author and 70 years after the author's death. For a joint work prepared by two or more authors who did not work for hire, subsection (b) uses the life of the last surviving author and 70 years after that death. For an anonymous work, a pseudonymous work, or a work made for hire, subsection (c) uses 95 years from the year of first publication, or 120 years from the year of creation, whichever expires first. If, before the end of that term, the identity of one or more authors of an anonymous or pseudonymous work is revealed in the records of a registration under section 408(a) or (d), or in the records subsection (c) provides, the term becomes the term in subsection (a) or (b) based on the life of the author or authors whose identity has been revealed. Subsection (e) gives a presumption only after a person obtains a Copyright Office certified report of the kind the subsection describes. You do not apply that presumption from this record. Sections 303 and 304 were not opened, so you do not state a term for a work created before 1 January 1978. Section 101, which defines a work made for hire, was not opened. Section 201(a) says copyright vests initially in the author or authors of the work, and the authors of a joint work are coowners. Section 201(b) says the employer or other person for whom a work made for hire was prepared is considered the author, and owns the rights, unless the parties have expressly agreed otherwise in a written instrument signed by them. You decide which subsection of section 302 applies. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Record the duration of copyright in an original work](https://ailawframework.com/practice/intellectual-property-patents-trade-marks-copyright-designs/record-the-duration-of-copyright-in-an-original-work.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: Record the year the work was made, the year of first publication if the file states it, the year of the author's death if the file states it, whether the author's identity is generally known, and whether the file describes a joint work or a work made for hire. Do not state an expiry year and do not apply a presumption about the author's death.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- Use the operative text of section 302. The historical notes on the same page still discuss a life-plus-50 term and 75-year and 100-year terms.
- Section 101 was not opened. Do not label a work made for hire until you read it.

## Sources

- [17 U.S.C. § 302 (duration of copyright)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/302) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [17 U.S.C. § 201 (ownership of copyright)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/201) (checked 2026-10-22)

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