The offering to distribute copies or phonorecords to a group of persons for purposes of further distribution, public performance, or public display, constitutes publication.
A public performance or display of a work does not of itself constitute publication. (17 U.S.CA § 101)'); document.write('
For example, Martin Luther King, Jr. made his I Have A Dream speech in front of a huge crowd and TV and newsreel cameras at The Lincoln Memorial, and provided some copies of the text to the press. In a subsequent court case, it was found that he did not publish the speech and could therefore copyright it. (King v. Mister Maestro, Inc., 224 F. Supp. 101 S.D.N Y 1963).'); document.write('
To perform or display a work “publicly” means—
(1) to perform or display it at a place open to the public or at any place wherea substantial number of persons outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances is gathered; or
(2) to transmit or otherwise communicate a performance or display of the work to a place specified by clause (1) or to the public, by means of any device or process, whether the members of the public capable of receiving the performance or display receive it in the same place or in separate places and at the same time or at different times. (17 U.S.CA § 101)
Merely "printing or other reproduction of copies" is not publication. (U.S. Copyright Office Circular 3)');