# Software copyright dates **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 17, 2003, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-copyright-dates/155672 "2003-02-17T18:12:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2003, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-copyright-dates/155672/1 "2003-02-17T18:12:35Z")
I’ve noticed this on software and websites but never that I can recall on anything else. The copyright date is a range, i.e. “1999-2004” or the like. What’s that all about? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2003, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-copyright-dates/155672/2 "2003-02-17T18:35:32Z")
Parts of the software were copyrighted in 1999, other parts in 2000, other parts in 2001, etc. In other words, new sections have been added as the software was changed. ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2003, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-copyright-dates/155672/3 "2003-02-17T20:06:45Z")
You actually may see something similar with books, saying ‘Copyright renewed’, whenever there has been an update of the material (or more often, a new introduction or postscript added). In both cases the reason is to extend the copyrighted period of the work. Normally that is 70 years after the death of the author (per the De Bono-act in the U.S.A., and by European Directive over here), but for such ‘company’-published works without a specific author it is 70 years after publication (correct me if I’m wrong about this part in the U.S.A.) ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-copyright-dates/155672/4 "2003-02-18T01:50:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RealityChuck \* > \*\*Parts of the software were copyrighted in 1999, other parts in 2000, other parts in 2001, etc. In other words, new sections have been added as the software was changed. \*\* I don’t think this is the case, since I see this on software created prior to the last year in the range. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-copyright-dates/155672/5 "2003-02-18T02:25:16Z")
Well, technically you can’t put a copyright date after the work is published, but I’m betting in this case, they are putting it on the package so that they don’t have to reprint the boxes when they release a version with bugs fixed next year. It wouldn’t affect the copyright if the date was wrong. ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-copyright-dates/155672/6 "2003-02-18T02:35:21Z")
Features! Sheesh, **RealityChuck** , those were just unwanted features! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![InTransit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47774/32.png) [@InTransit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InTransit)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2003, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/software-copyright-dates/155672/7 "2003-02-18T18:04:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TTT \* > \*\* . . . but for such ‘company’-published works without a specific author it is 70 years after publication (correct me if I’m wrong about this part in the U.S.A.) \*\* It’s the shorter of either 95 years from publication or 120 yrs. after creation (e.g., if it wasn’t a publicly-available/published work). Applies for corporate works, anonymous works, works-for-hire, or pseudonymous works. 🙂