The purpose of copyrights is to grant the author of a creative work a certain period of exclusive rights to that work. The idea is that authors or creators ought to be able to expect some sort of reward or remuneration for their efforts, which would be put at risk if anyone could copy and distribute the work freely. Copyrights don't last forever, though: eventually, every copyrighted piece of work will lose its copyright protection, at which point it is considered to be in the Public Domain.
Determining whether a given piece of work is protected by copyright, or how much longer the copyright on that work will last, can be a bit tricky There are a number of factors which go into determining copyright duration. These include the date of creation, the date of publication, the method of publication, if and how the copyright was registered, and whether the copyright had ever been renewed.
This is further complicated by complex legislation which covers copyrights published before 1978. The information below is intended to provide generally reliable information for determining copyright length, but please note that for works published before 1978 it is possible that copyright could have expired earlier than the indicated length below in the event that the copyright holder failed to register, renew or give proper notice. Copyright Office records for renewals after 1978 are available online. For copyrights established before 1978, it is advisable that you consider the copyright to be sustained throughout the entire 95 year period unless you have good reason to believe otherwise.
Works Registered or Published After 1978:
Works Created in or before 1978:
- Copyright Protection Begins: When the work is fixed in a tangible medium of expression (when put into a form in which it can be seen or heard by others)
- Copyright Duration: Life of the author plus 70 years.
- For joint authors, the length is indexed to the lifespan of the longest-lived author.
- For works for hire, corporate ownership, and anonymous/pseudonymous ownership: copyright expires 95 years after publication or 120 from creation, whichever comes first.
- Works published between 1978 and March 1, 1989:
- In accordance with the Bernes Convention Implementation Act, works published during this period without notice will not be covered by copyright unless:
- The notice was only omitted from a small number of copies.
- Registration of copyright was made within 5 years of publication without notice, and a reasonable effort was made to add notice to copies after the omission had been discovered.
- The notice was omitted in violation of an express requirement in writing that the copyright owner bear the prescribed notice, as a condition of public distribution.
Works Created Before 1978 But Neither Registered Nor Published Before December 31, 2002:
- Protection Begins: January 1st, 1978.
- Copyright Duration: Life of author plus 70 years.
- For joint authors, the length is measured by the lifespan of the longest-lived author.
- If the date of the author's death is unknown, and the work was published more than 95 years ago or created more than 120 years ago (whichever came first), you may obtain a certified report from the Copyright Office indicating that there is no record of the author's death. This certificate is a reliable defense against accusations of infringement if it should turn out later that the work was in fact copyrighted.
Works Created Before 1978 But Published or Copyright Registered between 1978 and 2002:
- Copyright Protection Begins: January 1st, 1978
- Copyright Duration: Life of author plus 70 years, or until December 31, 2047, whichever comes later.
- For joint authors, the duration of copyright is indexed to the lifespan of the longest-lived author.
- If the date of the author's death is unknown, see the note in the above section for obtaining a certificate from the Copyright Office.
- If published without notice between 1978 and 1989 in accordance with the Bernes Convention Implementation Act the work will not be covered by copyright unless:
- The notice was only omitted from a small number of copies.
- Registration of copyright was made within 5 years of publication without notice, and a reasonable effort was made to add notice to copies after the omission had been discovered.
- The notice was omitted in violation of an express requirement in writing that the copyright owner bear the prescribed notice, as a condition of public distribution.
Works Published or Registered Before 1978:
Works published or copyright registered before 1978 operate under a different set of rules. The most significant of these is that the copyright protection is divided into two terms. The first term lasts for 28 years after publication/registration. The second term extends for another 67 years beyond that. Together, the two terms cover a full 95 years. However, it is up to the copyright holder to renew that copyright after the expiration of the first term. The rules governing renewals are relatively complex. Generally, it is best to assume a full 95-year term, unless you are presented with evidence to the contrary.
Please note: Section 104A of the Copyright Act, which became effective in 1994, restores copyright to certain works created in certain countries outside the US whose copyright had passed into the public domain in the US (but not in the work's home country) due to noncompliance with formalities of United States copyright law, or lack of national eligibility. The work must have at least one author who was a national or domiciliary of an "eligible country", and the work must have first been published in an eligible country and not published in the United States during the 30-day period following publication in such eligible country (if it was published at all). Copyrights of these works were restored in 1996, but there are even more complicated rules covering any third parties who had created derivative works of copies during the period in which the work was in the public domain.
Because of all this complexity, if you suspect that a work may have entered the public domain after the first 28-year term, it is recommended that you consult with an attorney.
Works Copyright Registered or Published Between 1965 and 1977:
- Protection Begins: When registered or published with notice. Works published without notice went into the public domain upon publication
- Copyright Duration: 28 years for the first term with an automatic extension of 67 years for the second term, totaling 95 years.
- For musical works, distribution before January 1, 1978 of a recording is not considered a publication of the musical work embodied in the recording.
Audio Recordings "fixed in a tangible medium of expression" before February 15, 1972:
- Not protected by Federal copyright law
- May be protected by state Common Law until February 15, 2067
Works Published or Copyright Registered Between 1950 and 1963:
- Copyright Protection Begins: when work was published with notice, or when registered for copyright.
- Copyright Duration: 28 years for the first term, after which the copyright may have been renewed for a second term of 67 years. If the copyright was not renewed, protection will have expired after the first 28 years. Please see the note above concerning Section 104A of the Copyright Act before assuming that any copyright expired after the first term.
Works Registered for Copyright or Published Between 1923 and 1950:
- Copyright Protection Begins: When the work is published with notice or registered for copyright.
- Copyright Length: 28 years for the first term. If the copyright was successfully renewed as of January 1, 1978, the renewal term is extended to a second term of 67 years, for a total of 95 years. Copyright Office records for renewals after 1978 are available online. Works that were not renewed are now in the public domain.
- Musical recordings were not considered to be publications of that musical work before January 1, 1978.
Works Published In Another Country Between 1923 and 1977:
- Protection Begins: When the work was published.
- Copyright Protection Duration:
- For works published with notice under copyright protection in its home country as of January 1, 1996, the term expires after 95 years.
- For works published in a language other than English which were not republished with copyright notice and was under copyright in the home country as of January 1, 1996, the copyright expires 95 years after publication. However, due to a controversial 1996 9th Circuit decision, Twin Books v. Walt Disney Co., certain works published in a foreign language which failed to comply with US copyright formalities are considered "unpublished" in the U.S, and subject to the rules for unpublished works
- Works in the public domain in their home country as of January 1st, 1996 are in the public domain in the U.S, as well.
Works Registered for Copyright or Published Between January 1, 1922, and December 31, 1923:
- Now in Public Domain. By December 31, 1997, all copyright in such works would have expired at the end of their 47-year renewal term
Works Published or Registered More Than 56 Years Before 1976 Copyright Act (Before January 1, 1922):
- Now in Public Domain. Copyrights would have expired prior to the effective date of the 1976 copyright act.
Works Published in and Created by a Resident of Afghanistan, Bhutan, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Nepal, San Marino:
- According to Copyright Office Circular 38a - "International Copyright Relations of the United States" these countries are not members of international copyright conventions to which the US is a party. Works published in these countries are not protected by US copyright law.
- This list possibly may also include Cormoros, Kiribati, North Korea, Palau, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Somalia, Syria, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, or Yemen, whose status is listed as "unclear" in Circular 38a.
