Copyright Renewal DatabaseStanford University offers a database of copyright renewals submitted for books published between 1923 and 1963. The database includes only renewal records, not original registrations, and only Class A (book) renewals received by the US Copyright Office between 1950 and 1992. Between these dates, a renewal registration was required to prevent the expiration of copyright.
Beginning in 1964, copyrights were automatically renewed by statute for works. Items published before1923 have generally fallen into the public domain. But between 1923 and 1964, a renewal registration was required to prevent the expiration of copyright. Renewals received by the Copyright Office after 1977 are searchable in an online database; however, renewals received between 1950 and 1977 were announced and distributed only in a semi-annual print publication. The Copyright Office does not have a machine-searchable source for this renewal information, and the only public access is through the card catalog in their DC offices.