2.6.11.7: Public Domain and Term of Copyright
selected template will load here
This action is not available.
Copyright protection of a work doesn’t last forever. Once the copyright term ends for a work, it enters the public domain. This means that no one owns the rights to the work anymore, so the work may be used by anyone, for any purpose, without permission. The public domain includes works where copyright has expired and works that were never protected by copyright in the first place (such as works of the U.S. federal government created by federal employees).
The public domain provides a great source of materials that you can use for any purpose, without requesting permission or paying a fee. The internet is full of useful sites that can help you find Public Domain materials, including:
Due to U.S. participation in international treaties and changes to U.S. copyright law, Congress has placed a limitation on the length of copyright so that works can eventually become part of the public domain and be re-used and built upon by others. Over the years the term of copyright has changed significantly.
The current term is:
Since the duration of copyright has changed throughout the years, it can be difficult to determine when copyright expires for a particular work. Below are links to a couple of online sources to help you determine when a particular work enters the public domain.
The duration of copyright depends on when the work was created and whether it was the work of a single author, multiple authors, or an anonymous or corporate author.