It is now official. As of December 30, 2022 the term of
protection for copyrighted works will be extended by 20 years to
match earlier extensions that occurred in the United States and
Europe.
Starting on that date, copyright protection will expire 70 years
from the end of the civil year during which the author of a work
passed away. In the case of works of co-authorship, the starting
point of the calculation is the end of the civil year during which
the last surviving coauthor passed away. Distinct rules providing
for longer terms of protection for anonymous and pseudonymous works
are already in force.
This amendment does not have the effect of "reviving"
copyright for works already in the public domain at the time of
coming into force. In other words, the author or last surviving
coauthor of a work must have passed away at the latest on December
31, 1972 to gain 20 extra years of protection. All works that
remain protected by copyright will benefit from this
