LibGuides: Copyright: Public Domain; Expiration of Copyrights

Public Domain

Public domain is a legal term. which refers to creative works which are not currently covered by copyright. Some workks, such as U.S. government publications, are in public domain from the moment of creation. A copyright holder can declare their work or works to be in public domain at any time. However, the main way that works enter the public domain is through expiration of copyright (see boxes below.)

Once a work enters the public domain it can never be re-copyrighted. Public domain works may be copied, performed, sold, adapted or used to create derivative works without any permission required from the author Note that copyright holdres can sometimes maintain a degree of control over tehir intellectual property after it enters public domain though the use of trademark law.. See the "Legal Eagle" video linked below for an example, and our Trademarks LibGuide for more information.

How long does a copyright last?

This is a somewhat complicated question!

Under current U.S. law, copyright for the work of a single author or other creator lasts for the life of the author, plus 70 years.

For joint works/multiple creators, the copyright lasts for the life of the longest surviving author, plus 70 years.

Works for hire, anonymous and pseudonymous works are copyrighted for 95 years after first publication, or 120 years after creation, whichever expires first.

However, this was not always the case...

Because copyright law has changed over the years, the expiration date for works published in the US before January 1,1978 can be…complicated.

Back then, copyrights needed to be renewed every 28 years.\

All copyrights before 1978 expire 95 years after publication. So, at present, up to 1928 are now in the public domain. For more detail, see: https://guides.library.cornell.edu/copyright/publicdomain#:~:text=All%20terms%20of%20copyright%20run,expiration%20of%20its%20copyright%20term.

Note that a copy in a new medium of a public domain work now has its own copyright.

Public Domain Day 2025

For examples of workes that went into the public domain on January 1, 2025 -- 95 years after 1929 -- see the Duke Law School Center for the Study of the Public Domain's Public Domain Day 2025 page.

One speciffic case in 2024 was the animated film, "Steamboat Willie", which was the first appearance of Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse. For a commentary on the legal implications of this, and its entanglement with trademark law, see this video from "Legal Eagle", J. Devin Stone:

"How Disney Will Control Mickey Forever (Note that this video contains advertising content.)