Stanford Copyright & Fair Use - Welcome to the Public Domain - 106 views
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The public owns these works, not an individual author or artist. Anyone can use a public domain work without obtaining permission, but no one can ever own it.
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Copyright has expired for all works published in the United States before 1923.
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For works published after 1977, if the work was written by a single author, the copyright will not expire until 70 years after the author’s death. If a work was written by several authors and published after 1977, it will not expire until 70 years after the last surviving author dies.
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Thousands of works published in the United States before 1964 fell into the public domain because the copyright was not renewed in time under the law in effect then.
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Copyright law does not protect ideas; it only protects the particular way an idea is expressed.
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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.
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Copyright law does not protect the titles of books or movies, nor does it protect short phrases such as, “Make my day.” Copyright protection also doesn’t cover facts, ideas, or theories.
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Creative Commons, a nonprofit organization designed to foster the public domain, helps copyright owners dedicate their works to the public domain.
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Works published in the U.S. before 1923 In the
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In the U.S., any work created by a federal government employee or officer is in the public domain, provided that the work was created in that person’s official capacity.
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This chapter of Stanford's Copyright and Fair Use Overview defines public domain and explains the main ways in which works become public domain. "Dear Rich" letters provide scenarios to illustrate many of these.
