2122.4 (A) First Published in Copies
While a presentation or performance (or a limited distribution of copies for the purpose of presentation or performance) may not have caused a work to lose its common law protection under the Copyright Act of 1909 as an unpublished work, an unrestricted distribution of a work to the general public may have done so. See, e.g., Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc. v. CBS, Inc., 194 F.3d 1211, 1214-15 (11th Cir. 1999); King v. Mister Maestro, Inc., 224 F. Supp. 101, 106 (S.D.N.Y. 1963). When works registered in class C were published prior to 1978, they had to meet statutory requirements for books, including the manufacturing requirements, to maintain copyright through the full original term of copyright. When such works failed to do so upon publication, renewal registration is not possible.