What is the copyright status of currently unpublished letters and manuscripts?
U.S. Unpublished works are accorded federal copyright protection for a fixed term: the life of the author plus 70 years. In the case of a currently unpublished work created anywhere in the world before 1 January 1978 and not theretofore in the public domain or copyrighted, the work is protected for the author’s life plus 70 years or until 31 December 2002, whichever is longer. This means that works by Joyce that were not published during his lifetime, and were not published posthumously at any time before 31 December 2002, will enter the public domain in the U.S. on 1 January 2012. U.K. Works that were unpublished at the author’s death and remained so until 1 August 1989 are protected by copyright in the U.K. for 50 years from 1 January 1990, or until 31 December 2039, after which they will enter the U.K. public domain. Canada The basic rule is that unpublished works are protected for the duration of the author’s life plus 50 years. However, if the author died, as Joyce did, prior to 1
