how would copyright work for these? They were never copyrighted, so they're not outside the copyright->public works window. could super evil publisher copyright them? maybe I should just google for copyright.
http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap3.html#303
But only the legitimate owner of the documents will be able to publish them, not any random evil corporation.
For anything that was unpublished, you're right, though if they'd been found and published before 2002, they'd still be protected until 2047.