Bestand: Ernst Lothar (1890–1974) ~1930 © Georg Fayer (1892–1950).jpg

English: The Austrian copyright law of 1936 specified that photographs are copyrighted for a term of 20 years after publication, or 20 years after creation for photographs which were not published within 20 years. The copyright law of 1953 introduced a distinction between photographic works and simple photographs so that photographic works were now covered by the 50 years pma term for artistic works, but it also specified that photographs which were already in the public domain before 1953 and would now be considered photographic works did not become copyrighted again. The copyright law of 1972, which extended the protection period for artistic works to 70 years pma, was not retroactive either. The Austrian copyright law of 1996 restored all works to 70 years pma as per the EU directive, but this law occurred after the URAA date so the older terms on photographs were still in effect on January 1, meaning pre-1932 photos would not have been restored in the U.S. even though they were in Austria shortly thereafter.