Under the 1909 Copyright Act, works copyrighted in the United States before January 1, 1978, were subject to a renewal system in which the term of copyright was divided into two consecutive terms. Copyright renewal registration, within strict time limits, was required as a condition of securing the second term and extending the copyright to its maximum length. The 1992 amending legislation automatically secures this second term for works copyrighted between January 1, 1964, and December 31, 1977.