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Copyright And National Origin Of The Work

Copyright protection is available for all unpublished works, regardless of the nationality or domicile of the author. Published works are eligible for copyright protection in the United States if *any* one of the following conditions is met:

+ On the date of first publication, one or more of the authors is a national or domiciliary of the United States, or is a national, domiciliary, or sovereign authority of a treaty party,* or is a stateless person wherever that person may be domiciled; or *A treaty party is a country or intergovernmental organization other than the United States that is a party to an international agreement.

+ The work is first published in the United States or in a foreign nation that, on the date of first publication, is a treaty party. For purposes of this condition, a work that is published in the United States or a treaty party within 30 days after publication in a foreign nation that is not a treaty party shall be considered to be first published in the United States or such treaty party, as the case may be; or

+ The work is a sound recording that was first fixed in a treaty party; or

+ The work is a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work that is incorporated in a building or other structure, or an architectural work that is embodied in a building and the building or structure is located in the United States or a treaty party; or

+ The work is first published by the United Nations or any of its specialized agencies, or by the Organization of American States; or

+ The work is a foreign work that was in the public domain in the United States prior to 1996 and its copyright was restored under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA). Request Highlights of Copyright Amendments Contained in the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA-GATT), for further information.

+ The work comes within the scope of a Presidential proclamation.

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What Works Are Protected?

Copyright protects "original works of authorship" that are fixed in a tangible form of expression. The fixation need not be directly perceptible so long as it may be communicated with the aid of a machine or device. Copyrightable works include the following categories:

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