Legal Definitions - divestitive publication

Definition: Divestitive publication refers to the act of distributing an author's work on a large scale, which can divest the author of any claim to state common-law copyright protection. It is an archaic term that is no longer relevant under the current Copyright Act of 1976.

Example: Before the Copyright Act of 1976, if an author distributed their work to the general public without any restrictions, it was considered a divestitive publication. This meant that the author had dedicated their work to the public and had no claim to state common-law copyright protection.

Explanation: Divestitive publication was an important concept under the old copyright laws, as it marked the dividing line between state and federal protection. However, under the current Copyright Act of 1976, an original work is considered published only when it is first made publicly available without restriction. This means that divestitive publication is no longer relevant.