In order to comply with international copyright treaties, the United States amended its copyright laws in the late 1990s to restore copyright protection for certain foreign works that had entered the public domain solely due to the failure to comply with United States copyright formalities. Consequently, many artworks that had previously fallen into the public domain in the United States for failure to renew the copyright were "restored" to full copyright protection, but only if such works were by a foreign artist who first published the work outside of the United States.

Subject to this act of copyright restoration for foreign authors and artists, the artworks illustrated in these foreign publications likely still enjoy copyright protection under United States copyright law, even though the artists did not renew their copyrights as formerly required.

  1. Pablo Picasso, Nude with a Pitcher, 1906. From: Oscar Schurer, Pablo Picasso. Berlin: Verlag Von Kilnkhardt & Biermann, 1927.
  2. Juan Gris, The Glass of Beer, 1914. From: Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, Juan Gris. Paris: Gallimard, 1946.
  3. Marc Chagall, The Praying Jew, 1923 (copy of a 1914 work). From: Marc Chagall : vingt-neuf reproductions de peintures et dessins. Paris: Librairie Gallimard, 1928.
  4. Henri Matisse, Lorette with Cup of Coffee, 1916-1917. From: Hans Purrmann, Henri Matisse. Berlin: Galerien Thannhauser, 1929.

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