Why 1923 for public domain

The last one—in , when slipped its copyright bond—predated Google. For academics fearful of quoting from copyrighted texts, teachers who may be violating the law with every photocopy, and modern-day artists in search of inspiration, the event is a cause for celebration.

Despite that, even fierce advocates for copyright agree that, after 95 years, it is time to release these works. We can blame Mickey Mouse for the long wait. In , Disney was one of the loudest in a choir of corporate voices advocating for longer copyright protections.

At the urging of Disney and others, Congress passed the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, named for the late singer, songwriter and California representative, adding 20 years to the copyright term.

Mickey would be protected until —and no copyrighted work would enter the public domain again until , creating a bizarre year hiatus between the release of works from and those from This hole in history was accidental, but it occurred at a remarkable moment. Copyright Information Center. In the public domain due to copyright expiration through Published without a copyright notice None.

In the public domain due to failure to comply with required formalities to 1 March Published without notice, and without subsequent registration within 5 years None. In the public domain due to failure to comply with required formalities to 1 March Published without notice, but with subsequent registration within 5 years 70 years after the death of author. If a work of corporate authorship, 95 years from publication or years from creation, whichever expires first through Published with notice but copyright was not renewed 8 None.

In the public domain due to copyright expiration through Published with notice and the copyright was renewed 8 95 years after publication date through Published with notice 95 years after publication date to 1 March Created after and published with notice 70 years after the death of author. If a work of corporate authorship, 95 years from publication or years from creation, whichever expires first to 1 March Created before and first published with notice in the specified period The greater of the term specified in the previous entry or 31 December From 1 March through Created after 70 years after the death of author.

If a work of corporate authorship, 95 years from publication or years from creation, whichever expires first From 1 March through Created before and first published in this period The greater of the term specified in the previous entry or 31 December After None 70 years after the death of author. If a work of corporate authorship, 95 years from publication or 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.

In the public domain in the United States, unless the employee was a civilian member of the faculty of one of 15 service academies and the work in question is a literary work intended for scholarly publication. Citizens Living Abroad 9 Date of Publication Conditions Copyright Term in the United States Before None In the public domain But see first special case below Works Published Abroad Before 10 through Published without compliance with US formalities, and in the public domain in its source country as of 1 January but see special cases 20 In the public domain through Published in compliance with all US formalities i.

Published in a language other than English, and without subsequent republication with a copyright notice 12 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.

Enters the public domain on 15 Feb. For unpublished anonymous and pseudonymous works and works made for hire corporate authorship , years from the date of fixation Nothing. The soonest anything enters the public domain is 15 Feb. At least one author of the work was not a US citizen or was living abroad, and there was no US publication within 30 days of the foreign publication but see special cases 95 years from date of publication. At least one author of the work was not a US citizen or was living abroad, and there was no US publication within 30 days of the foreign publication but see special cases 70 years after death of author, or if work of corporate authorship, the shorter of 95 years from publication, or years from creation After 1 March None 70 years after death of author, or if work of corporate authorship, the shorter of 95 years from publication, or years from creation Special Cases Fixed at any time Created by a resident of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Marshall Islands, San Marino, or Timor-Leste and published in one of these countries.

Notes This chart was first published in Peter B. This version is current as of 17 March For some explanation on how to use the chart and complications hidden in it, see Peter B. Public Domain," Searcher Sept The chart is based in part on Laura N. Washington, D. Mary Minow has a useful copyright duration chart organized by year.

Several U. See also Library of Congress Copyright Office. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, by Peter B. Hirtle, Emily Hudson, and Andrew T. Additional guidance on the public domain may be found in Melissa Levine, Richard C.

Adler,and Justin Bonfiglio. Mannapperuma, Brianna L. Schofield, and Andrea K. Yankovsky, et. Is it in the Public Domain? Treat unpublished works registered for copyright prior to as if they had been published in the US though note that the only formality that applied was the requirement to renew copyright after 28 years. Unpublished works registered for copyright since can be considered as if they were an "Unpublished, Unregistered Work. Unpublished works when the death date of the author is not known may still be copyrighted after years, but certification from the Copyright Office that it has no record to indicate whether the person is living or died less than 70 years before is a complete defense to any action for infringement.

See 17 U. Presumption as to the author's death requires a certified report from the Copyright Office that its records disclose nothing to indicate that the author of the work is living or died less than seventy years before. Not all published works are copyrighted. Because of legislation passed in , no new works fell into the public domain between and due to expiration. In , works published in expired.

In , works published in will expire, and so on. If a work was written by several authors and published after , it will not expire until 70 years after the last surviving author dies. Thousands of works published in the United States before fell into the public domain because the copyright was not renewed in time under the law in effect then. If a work was first published before , the owner had to file a renewal with the Copyright Office during the 28th year after publication.

No renewal meant a loss of copyright. If you plan on using a work that was published before , you should research the records of the Copyright Office to determine if a renewal was filed. Sometimes an author deliberately chooses not to protect a work and dedicates the work to the public. This type of dedication is rare, and unless there is express authorization placing the work in the public domain, do not assume that the work is free to use. An additional concern is whether the person making the dedication has the right to do so.

Only the copyright owner can dedicate a work to the public domain. Sometimes, the creator of the work is not the copyright owner and does not have authority. If in doubt, contact the copyright owner to verify the dedication. There are some things that copyright law does not protect.

These things are free for all to use without authorization. Short phrases, names, titles, or small groups of words are considered common idioms of the English language and are free for anyone to use. However, a short phrase used as an advertising slogan is protectable under trademark law. In that case, you could not use a similar phrase for the purpose of selling products or services.