Title Page | Collection Summary | Biographical/Organizational Note | Scope and Content | Arrangement
Timeline of Copyright Classes
The Motion Picture Copyright Descriptions Collection was assembled by the Library of Congress Moving Image Section from material collected by and transferred by the United States Copyright Office. The material was submitted by copyright registrants as part of the registration process.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1912, Aug. 24-1929, Mar. 23 | Copyright Class M (Motion pictures, not photoplays) created by Congressional Act. The initial xxc (20th century) range runs to 1929, and numbered 5,999 registrations. |
| 1929, Mar. 26-1945, Dec. 31 | The Copyright Office closed out the xxc (20th century) series across all classes. The second Class M range runs to the end of 1945, and numbered 16,613 registrations. |
| 1946, Jan. 1-1950, Apr. 5 | The Copyright Office commences another series across all classes at the beginning of 1946. The third Class M range runs to 1950, and numbered 5,133 registrations. |
| 1950, Apr. 7-1977, Dec. 31 | Class M split into separately numbered ranges for published (MP) and unpublished (MU) works. Class MP commences with MP1 and runs to the end of 1977. |
| 1965, Aug. 31-1977, Dec. 31 | Copyright Class MFO established for foreign works deposited without fee. |
| 1950, Apr. 13-1977, Dec. 31 | Class M split into separately numbered ranges for published (MP) and unpublished (MU) works. Class MU continues the numbering of the previous Class M range, commencing with MU5134. |
| 1978, Jan. 1 | The Copyright Office reduces the number of classes across all categories. Class M is discontinued, and motion pictures from this date forward are registered under Class PA, works of the performing arts. |