| The period for which
copyright protection is afforded to a work is not unlimited. At the end of a copyright
protection period, a work is considered to have entered the public domain. In addition, works by government agencies developed for public purposes and
funded with governmental monies are considered to be in the public domain and may be
freely reproduced and altered. While this is also sometimes true when applied to works
created by educational institutions or nonprofit agencies that are funded by government
grants, this is not always the case. Nonprofit agencies and educational institutions can
and do claim copyright ownership of their work. When in doubt, verify ownership with the
developing agency or insitution.
»Timing for works to
pass into the public domain
The following list gives some examples of guidelines to use
when trying to decide whether a work has passed into the public domain (however, this is
not an exhaustive list). In these cases, copyright periods apply for:
- Works owned by individuals and created on or after
January 1, 1978: Life of the author, plus 70 years (for joint authors, life of
the longest-living author + 70 years). Upon the death of the author, copyright ownership
passes to the author's estate until the period has expired.
- Works-for-hire, anonymous works, and works owned by
corporations that were created on or after January 1, 1978: Either 95 years from
the date of publication or 120 years from the date of creation, whichever is shorter.
- Works created before January 1, 1978, but not
published: Life of the author plus 70 years or December 31,
2002, whichever is longer.
- Works created before January 1, 1978 and published
between that date and December 31, 2002: Life of the author plus 70 years or
December 31, 2047, whichever is longer
- Works published before January 1, 1978 that
contained a copyright notice: 28 years, with a potential renewal period of 67
years (works published before 1963 that were not renewed for a second term are in the
public domain; works published between 1964 and 1977 are automatically extended for a
second term of 67 years)
- Works published between January 1, 1978 and March 1,
1989 (the effective date of the Berne Convention Implementation Act) that did not contain
a copyright notice: In the public domain, unless registration of the work was
made within five years.
For more information about works in the public domain, see
the links to general copyright information provided in the "Practices" section. |