Omission Of Notice

“Omission of notice” is publishing without a notice.  In addition, some
errors are considered the same as omission of notice.  These are: 
  + A notice that does not contain the (the letter C in a circle
    symbol), or the word “Copyright” or the abbreviation “Copr.” or, if
    the work is a sound recording, the symbol P (the letter P in a
    circle);
  + A notice dated more than 1 year later than the date of first
    publication;
  + A notice without a name or date that could reasonably be considered
    part of the notice;
  + A notice that lacks the statement required for works consisting
    preponderantly of U.S.  Government material; and
  + A notice located so that it does not give reasonable notice of the
    claim of copyright.

The omission of notice does not affect the copyright protection, and no corrective steps are required if the work was published on or after March 1, 1989.  For works published between January 1, 1978, but before March 1, 1989, no corrective steps are required if: 

1.  The notice is omitted from no more than a relatively small number of
   copies or phonorecords distributed to the public; or

2.  The omission violated an express written requirement that the
   published copies or phonorecords bear the prescribed notice.

In all other cases of omission in works published before March 1, 1989, to preserve copyright: 

1.  The work must have been registered before it was published in any
   form or before the omission occurred, or it must have been registered
   within 5 years after the date of publication without notice; and

2.  The copyright owner must have made a reasonable effort to add the
   notice to all copies or phonorecords that were distributed to the
   public in the United States after the omission was discovered.  If
   these corrective steps were not taken, the work went into the public
   domain in the United States 5 years after publication.  At that time
   all U.S. copyright protection was lost and cannot be restored.

Error in Year

If the copyright duration depends on the date of first publication and the year given in the notice is earlier than the actual publication date, protection may be shortened by beginning the term on the date in the notice. (For later date in the notice, see “Omission of Notice.”)

Example:  A work made for hire is created in 1983 and is first published in 1988.  However, the notice contains the earlier year of 1987.  In this case, the term of copyright protection would be measured from the year in the notice, and the expiration date would be 2082, 95 years from 1987.

Error in Name

When the person named in the notice is not the owner of copyright, the error may be corrected by: