The U.S. copyright in any work published or registered before Jan. 1, 1931, has expired, and the work is permanently in the U.S. public domain. Sound recordings made before Feb. 15, 1972, follow separate rules: one first published from 1923 through 1946 is protected through Dec. 31 of the 100th year after its publication. Copyright OfficeU.S. Code
Copyright terms that were still running on Jan. 1, 1978, or began after that date run through Dec. 31 of the year they would otherwise end, so those works enter the public domain on a Jan. 1. U.S. Code
Public Domain Checker
Answer a few questions to see whether a book, photo, song, recording, film or other work is in the U.S. public domain, and if not, when it gets there, where the law sets a date. It covers the common U.S. rules, and each result names what could change it.
How to answer this
A U.S. government work is one prepared by a federal officer or employee as part of their official duties. U.S. Code
Material in a government publication that a federal employee didn't prepare on the job, such as a photo credited to a contractor, a university or an outside photographer, isn't a government work and can keep its own copyright. U.S. Code
Check the credit line: a photo credited to an outside person or company isn’t a government work, even in a government report.
More on these choices
The rule covers only federal officers and employees working within their official duties, not outside contractors, grant recipients or state and local government workers. U.S. Code
A sound recording is the recorded sounds themselves, not counting the sounds that go with a film or other audiovisual work. U.S. Code
A recording usually holds two works: the song, text or other work being performed, and the recording of that performance. Copyright Office
How this checker works:
- The U.S. copyright in any work published or registered before Jan. 1, 1931, has expired, and the work is permanently in the U.S. public domain. Sound recordings made before Feb. 15, 1972, follow separate rules: one first published from 1923 through 1946 is protected through Dec. 31 of the 100th year after its publication. Copyright OfficeU.S. Code
- A work already under copyright on Jan. 1, 1978, can get at most 95 years: a 28-year first term plus a 67-year renewal term. Copyright Office
- For a work created in 1978 or later, copyright lasts for the author's life plus 70 years. U.S. Code
- For an anonymous work, a pseudonymous work or a work made for hire, copyright lasts 95 years from first publication or 120 years from creation, whichever ends first. U.S. Code
- Copyright terms that were still running on Jan. 1, 1978, or began after that date run through Dec. 31 of the year they would otherwise end, so those works enter the public domain on a Jan. 1. U.S. Code
How Long Copyright Lasts
How this checker works:
- The U.S. copyright in any work published or registered before Jan. 1, 1931, has expired, and the work is permanently in the U.S. public domain. Sound recordings made before Feb. 15, 1972, follow separate rules: one first published from 1923 through 1946 is protected through Dec. 31 of the 100th year after its publication. Copyright OfficeU.S. Code
- A work already under copyright on Jan. 1, 1978, can get at most 95 years: a 28-year first term plus a 67-year renewal term. Copyright Office
- For a work created in 1978 or later, copyright lasts for the author's life plus 70 years. U.S. Code
- For an anonymous work, a pseudonymous work or a work made for hire, copyright lasts 95 years from first publication or 120 years from creation, whichever ends first. U.S. Code
- Copyright terms that were still running on Jan. 1, 1978, or began after that date run through Dec. 31 of the year they would otherwise end, so those works enter the public domain on a Jan. 1. U.S. Code
Works Published Before 1978
- A work already under copyright on Jan. 1, 1978, can get at most 95 years: a 28-year first term plus a 67-year renewal term. Copyright Office
- A copyright secured from 1931 through 1963 had to be renewed with the Copyright Office in its 28th year. Copyright Office
- Without that renewal, the copyright ended for good at the end of its 28th year. The exception is certain foreign works: the Uruguay Round Agreements Act restored copyright they had lost this way. Copyright OfficeCopyright Office
- A renewed copyright lasts 95 years from the end of the year it was first secured. Copyright Office
- For works published or registered from 1964 through 1977, renewal became automatic, so the copyright lasts the full 95 years without a renewal filing. Copyright Office
- Before 1978, an unpublished work could get federal copyright by being registered, and its 28-year first term then counted from the registration date. Copyright Office
Works From 1978 On, and Unpublished Works
- For a work created in 1978 or later, copyright lasts for the author's life plus 70 years. U.S. Code
- For a joint work by two or more authors who didn't work for hire, the 70 years count from the death of the last surviving author. U.S. Code
- For an anonymous work, a pseudonymous work or a work made for hire, copyright lasts 95 years from first publication or 120 years from creation, whichever ends first. U.S. Code
- A work created before 1978 but not published or registered by then got federal copyright on Jan. 1, 1978, for the same term as newer works, and that term couldn't end before Dec. 31, 2002. U.S. Code
- If such a work was published on or before Dec. 31, 2002, its copyright can't end before Dec. 31, 2047. U.S. Code
The Copyright Notice
- A copyright notice usually shows the symbol ©, the word "Copyright" or the abbreviation "Copr.," with the owner's name and the year of first publication. Copyright Office
- Published copies had to carry a copyright notice until March 1, 1989. Copyright Office
- For a work first published before 1978, a published copy with no copyright notice at all generally means the work isn't protected. Copyright Office
- For works first published from Jan. 1, 1978, through Feb. 28, 1989, a missing notice didn't end the copyright by itself, but it could if the omission wasn't cured, such as by registering within five years of publication. Copyright Office
- A work published on or after March 1, 1989, can be protected with no notice at all. Copyright Office
Government Works, Sound Recordings and Foreign Works
- Copyright protection isn't available for any work of the U.S. government. U.S. Code
- A U.S. government work is one prepared by a federal officer or employee as part of their official duties. U.S. Code
- A recording usually holds two works: the song, text or other work being performed, and the recording of that performance. Copyright Office
- A recording fixed before Feb. 15, 1972, is protected through Dec. 31 of the 95th year after first publication plus a transition period, and never after Feb. 15, 2067. U.S. Code
- The Uruguay Round Agreements Act restored U.S. copyright in certain foreign works that had lost it for not following U.S. formalities, including failing to renew. Copyright Office
- A restored copyright lasts only for the rest of the term the work would have had in the U.S. if it had never lost protection. U.S. Code
How to Check a Work’s Status
- Examine a copy of the work for a copyright notice, the place and date of publication, the author and the publisher. Copyright Office
- The Copyright Office's online records search covers 1898 to 1945 and 1978 to the present, and its Virtual Card Catalog (1870 to 1977) and Catalog of Copyright Entries (1891 to 1978) cover the years between. Copyright Office
- For an hourly fee, Copyright Office staff will search its records and send a written report. Copyright Office
- The Copyright Office keeps no list of works in the public domain. Copyright Office
- Finding no record of a work doesn't mean it's unprotected. Copyright Office
- A new version, such as a translation, arrangement, revised edition or adaptation, can have its own copyright in the new material even when the original is in the public domain. Copyright Office
- A work in the U.S. public domain may still be protected in other countries, each of which sets its own rules. Copyright Office