Supreme Court Says Congress May Re-Copyright Public Domain Works
www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/01/scotus-re-copyright-decision
From the page
Saved with the link. Notes from 2007 to 2016 are mostly the page's own words, so this is probably an excerpt.
Congress may take books, musical compositions and other works out of the public domain, where they can be freely used and adapted, and grant them copyright status again, the Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.