COPYRIGHT INFO REGARDING OLD TIME RADIO SHOWS

The Copyright Act of 1909 was a landmark statute in United States statutory copyright law.

The Act was repealed and superseded by the Copyright Act of 1976, but it remains effective for copyrighted works created before the Copyright Act of 1976 went into effect in January 1, 1978.

Radio shows created before January 1, 1978 are protected by the Copyright Act of 1909 rather than the Copyright Act of 1976 because according to case law any copyright determinations must be made according the copyright law as it existed before that date. Assuming the old time radio shows were in the public domain from the Copyright Act of 1909, the update of 1976 could not suddenly place them under copyright because they were already in the public domain, and the status of a public domain work is not allowed to ever be reversed.