The Mechanics of Copyright-JA
Copyright Term
US
At present in the United States, works that were created after 1978 are protected by copyright for a period of seventy years after the death of the author, except for works made for hire, which are protected for 120 years from creation, or 95 years from publication, whichever comes first.
Renewal Term
Pre-1978, under the 1909 Copyright Act, works were protected for an initial period of 28 years, and a "renewal term" of 28 years. The Copyright Act of 1976 extended the term, providing that works created prior to January 1, 1978 received an additional 19 years on the renewal term, bringing the total term of protection to 75 years. Works created after January 1, 1978 were protected for fifty years after the death of the author; works made for hire received a 75 year term.
Termination
Jamaica
In Jamaica, most works are protected for a period of fifty years after the death of the author (or, in the case of joint authors, the death of the last known author). If the author is unknown, a work is protected for fifty years from the date it was first made available to the public. However, three types of works receive different periods of protection: computer generated works receive protection for a period of fifty years from creation, and sound recordings and films receive fifty years from the year that it was made, or published (whichever comes first). See Copyright Act, section 10.
Copyright Registration
In order to obtain copyright registration in the United States, a copyright owner must fill out a form, pay a small fee, and deposit two copies of the work with the Library of Congress. Registration is not required; however, in order to bring a copyright infringement suit, the work MUST be registered.
At present, Jamaica does not have a registration system; however, JIPO is testing a voluntary registration system that would, for a small fee, register a work by completing two forms and submitting a digital copy of the work. The copyright owner would then receive a Certificate of Registration. See article