Gibson D. Lewis Library Libguides
Copyright, Fair Use & Public Domain
Information for Scholars about copyright, fair use, & public domain
Librarian
Public Domain
If a work is in the public domain, it means that it is no longer under the jurisdiction of any copyright or licensing agreements (Butler, 2014). Works in the public domain can be altered, recreated for profit, copied, or used in any way without the authorization of whomever originally possessed the copyright (Butler, 2014). After a period of time, works that enter the public domain allow for new and creative takes on the material. They provide a wealth of classic information and entertainment, as well as an inexpensive way to gather stock material that can be utilized however a person sees fit.
Because copyright laws have changed, when and how something can enter the public domain has changed. It can be difficult to determine if something is truly in the public domain. Generally, these documents are considered to be public domain:
- some federal documents
- phone books
- works with expired copyrights
- works for which owners have chosen to give up their copyrights (See the Open Access and Creative Commons License guides for more information on this topic)
- some open-source documents
- some clip art
- works published before 1929
- some works published between 1928 and 1977
This is just a general guideline. Never assume that a work is public domain unless explicitly stated. Best practice is to verify with the source if there are any copyrights or licensing agreements before attempting to use the work in question.
- Guide to Using Public Domain Tools
A brief guide from Creative Commons that explains how to use public domain content.
Copyright Term and the Public Domain
Never Published, Never Registered Works
| Type of Work | Copyright Term | In the public Domain in the U.S. as of 1 January 2025 |
| Unpublished Works | Life of the author + 70 years | Works from authors who died before 1955 |
| Unpublished anonymous and pseudonymous works, and works made for hire (corporate authorship) | 120 years from date of creation | Works created before 1905 |
| Unpublished works when the death date of the author is not known | 120 years from date of creation | Works created before 1905 |
Works Registered or First Published in the U.S.
| Date of Publication | Conditions | Copyright Term |
| Before 1930 | None | None. In the public domain due to copyright expiration |
| 1930 through 1977 | Published without a copyright notice | None. In the public domain due to failure to comply with required formalitites |
| 1978 through 1 March 1989 | Published without notice, and without subsequent registration within 5 years | None. In the public domain due to failure to comply with required formalitites |
| 1978 through 1 March 1989 | Published without notice, and with subsequent registration within 5 years | 70 years after the death of author. If a work of corporate authorship, 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever expires first |
| 1930 through 1963 | Published with notice but copyright was not renewed | None. In the public domain due to copyright expiration |
| 1930 through 1963 | Published with notice and the copyright was renewed | 95 years after publication date |
| 1964 through 1977 | Published with notice | 95 years after publication date |
| 1978 to 1 March 1989 | Created after 1977 and published with notice | 70 years after the death of author. If a work of corporate authorship, 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever expires first |
| 1978 to 1 March 1989 | Created before 1978 and first published with notice in the specified period | The greater of the term specified in the previous entry or 31 December 2047 |
| From 1 March 1989 through 2002 | Created after 1977 | 70 years after the death of author. If a work of corporate authorship, 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever expires first |
| From 1 March 1989 through 2002 | Created before 1978 and first published in this period | The greater of the term specified in the previous entry or 31 December 2047 |
| After 2002 | None | 70 years after the death of author. If a work of corporate authorship, 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever expires first |
| Anytime | Works prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that person's official duties | None. In the public domain in the United States, unless the employee was a civilian member of the faculty of one of 14 service academies and the work in question is a literary work intended for scholarly publication. (17 U.S.C. § 105) |
Works First Published Outside the U.S. by Foreign Nationals or U.S. Citizens Living Abroad
| Date of Publication | Conditions | Copyright Term in the United States |
| Before 1930 | None | In the public domain (But see first special case below) |
Works Published Aborad Before 1978
| 1930 through 1977 | Published without compliance with US formalities, and in the public domain in its source country as of 1 January 1996 (but see special cases) | In the public domain |
| 1930 through 1977 | Published in compliance with all US formalities (i.e., notice, renewal) | 95 years after publication date |
| 1930 through 1977 | Solely published abroad, without compliance with US formalities or republication in the US, and not in the public domain in its home country as of 1 January 1996 (but see special cases) | 95 years after publication date |
| 1930 through 1977 | Published in the US less than 30 days after publication abroad | Use the US publication chart to determine duration |
| 1930 through 1977 | Published in the US more than 30 days after publication abroad, without compliance with US formalities, and not in the public domain in its home country as of 1 January 1996 (but see special cases) | 95 years after publication date |
Works Published Abroad After 1 January 1978
| 1978 to 2002 | Created before 1978 and first published in a country that is a signatory to the Berne Convention or other 17 USC § 104A(h)(3) treaties | The greater of 70 years after the death of author (or if work of corporate authorship, 95 years from publication) or 31 December 2047 |
| 2003- | Created before 1978 and first published after 2002 in a country that is a signatory to the Berne Convention or other 17 USC § 104A(h)(3) treaties | 70 years after the death of the author, or if work of corporate authorship, 95 years from publication |
| 1 January 1978 - 1 March 1989 | Published without copyright notice, and in the public domain in its source country as of 1 January 1996 (but see special cases) | In the public domain |
| 1 January 1978 - 1 March 1989 | Published without copyright notice in a country that is a signatory to the Berne Convention or other 17 USC § 104A(h)(3) treaties and is not in the public domain in its source country as of 1 January 1996 (but see special cases) | 70 years after the death of author, or if work of corporate authorship, 95 years from publication |
| 1 January 1978 - 1 March 1989 | Published with copyright notice in a country that has copyright relations with the US (but see special cases) | 70 years after the death of author, or if work of corporate authorship, 95 years from publication |
| After 1 March 1989 | Published in a country that has copyright relations with the US | 70 years after the death of author, or if work of corporate authorship, 95 years from publication |
| After 1 March 1989 | Published in a country with which the United States does not have copyright relations under a treaty | In the public domain |
Special Cases
| 1 July 1909 through 1978 | In Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands ONLY. Published in a language other than English, and without subsequent republication with a copyright notice | Treat as an unpublished work until such date as first US-compliant publication occurred |
| Anytime | Created by a resident of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Marshall Islands, and published in one of these countries. Works from Palau, Somalia or South Sudan may also be included | Not protected by US copyright law until they become party to bilateral or international copyright agreements |
| Anytime | Works whose copyright was once owned or administered by the Alien Property Custodian, and whose copyright, if restored, would as of January 1, 1996, be owned by a government | Not protected by US copyright law |
| Anytime | If fixed or solely published in one of the following countries, the 1 January 1996 date given above is replaced by the date of the country's membership in the Berne Convention or the World Trade Organization, whichever is earlier: Afghanistan, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Cook Islands, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Grenada, Haiti, Jersey, Jordan, Kiribati, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Micronesia, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nauru, Nepal, Niue, Oman, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Samoa, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Yemen |
Used with permission by Cornell University. Taken from Cornell University Library's Copyright Services LibGuide is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 