What does a copyright date mean?

Definition: The date on which the item was copyrighted. (A copyright date does not mean an item is still copyrighted.) Purpose: Provides contextual information and serves as an access point to allow users to retrieve and sort items by copyright date.

What should the copyright date be?

The term of copyright for a particular work depends on several factors, including whether it has been published, and, if so, the date of first publication. As a general rule, for works created after January 1, 1978, copyright protection lasts for the life of the author plus an additional 70 years.