Mostly good info here, but one or two misleaders.
Copyright laws are fairly similar through most of the world, though in the US copyright must be registered with the USPTO before action can be taken against an infringer.
In Europe, and I think in US also, copyright lasts for 70 years from the death of the originator and is a tangible asset that can be transferred just like any other property.
As has been said, the copyright symbol is nothing more than a reminder that copyright exists. Copyright is automatic on creation of a work.
Copyright law forbids unauthorised copying or adapting a work, therefore unauthorised restoration of a photograph that is still in copyright is illegal.
There's a bit more detail, mainly relating to the UK, in my Intellectual Property Guide at
http://www.peterborough.net/business...es/ipintro.asp.
(Note: I'm not a qualified IPR attorney but spent several years as an IPR specialist for an international engineering company before retirement in 2001)