IS IT PUBLIC DOMAIN?
The property status will be displayed here.
This is specifically for works created within the United States, every
country has different conditions.
This website is NOT held liable in the case of a copyright violation and
should NOT be cited as a source.
Music recordings also work on a different copyright framework, please
refer to the information below
if your property is recorded audio.
A BRIEF SUMMARY OF COPYRIGHT LAW
& AND HOW TO USE THE SITE
According to the copyright act of 1976 (not in affect until 1978)
all properties published beforehand must be registered.
According to the copyright act of 1989 (the Berne Convention), it
was made clear that a copyright notice or registration was not required
for protection.
The creation of a property meant it was automatically protected by
copyright.
In 1992, copyright renewal was made automatic. Works published before
1964 needed to have their registration renewed after the first 28
years. If your property was published between 1964 and 1977 however, it
would've been automatically renewed.
(Note, if a property lacked a copyright notice before 1978, the rights
were likely forfeited. If it lacks a citation and was published between
1978 and 1989, the rights were harmed, but likely still remain intact)
According to the copyright extension act of 1998, all works copyrighted
less than 95 years from the current next year are still protected.
When plugging your property in this site, check to make sure if your
property was registered, if that registration was renewed,
if it has a copyright notice on the property itself. These are all important factors in determining
whether or not your property is likely public domain.
Music is also a different beast, if you're using this for a music
recording, it's a bit more complicated and
this is far less accurate for that application. If it was published
before 1923, it's public domain.
Between 1923 - 1946, it's protected for 100 years.
Between 1947 - 1956, it's protected for 110 years.
Between 1956 - 1971, they become public domain on February 15th, 2067.
