U.S. Copyright and the Public Domain

A Question for Postcard.org

When Do Postcard Copyrights Pass into the Public Domain

in the United States?

This response is based on Laura N. Gasaway’s chart, "WHEN WORKS PASS INTO THE PUBLIC DOMAIN," at http://www.unc.edu/~unclng/public-d.htm , "COPYRIGHT TERM FOR ARCHIVISTS," at http://copyright.cornell.edu/resources/publicdomain.cfm, the Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress' "COPYRIGHT AND OTHER RESTRICTIONS WHICH APPLY TO PUBLICATION AND OTHER FORMS OF DISTRIBUTION OF IMAGES: SOURCES FOR INFORMATION" at http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/print/195_copr.html, Peter B. Hirtle, "Recent Changes To The Copyright Law: Copyright Term Extension," Archival Outlook, January/February 1999; updated on 15 January 2003, and Marie C. Malaro, A Legal Primer On Managing Museum Collections (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998): 155-156.

See also U.S. Copyright Office's PDF on Copyright

This chart gives general reference guidelines. Please consult an attorney for answers to specific copyright questions.

PUBLISHED WORKS
*Time of Publication in U.S.*	*Conditions*	*Public Domain Status*
Before 1923	None	In public domain
Between 1923 and 1978	Published without a copyright notice	In public domain
Between 1978 and 1 March 1989	Published without notice, and without subsequent registration	In public domain
Between 1978 and 1 March 1989	Published without notice, but with subsequent registration	70 years after death of author, or if work of corporate authorship, the shorter of 95 years from publication, or 120 years from creation
Between 1923 and 1963	Published with notice but copyright was not renewed	In public domain
Between 1923 and 1963	Published with notice and the copyright was renewed	95 years after publication date But fewer than 15% of all registered copyrights of this time period were actually renewed
Between 1964 and 1978	Published with notice	70 years after death of author, or if work of corporate authorship, the shorter of 95 years from publication, or 120 years from creation
Between 1978 and 1 March 1989	Published with notice	70 years after death of author, or if work of corporate authorship, the shorter of 95 years from publication, or 120 years from creation
After 1 March 1989	None	70 years after death of author, or if work of corporate authorship, the shorter of 95 years from publication, or 120 years from creation

UNPUBLISHED WORKS
*Type of Work*	*Copyright Term*	*What is in the Public Domain effective 1.January 2003 in the U.S.?*
Unpublished works	Life of the author + 70 years	Works from authors who died before 1933.
Unpublished anonymous and pseudonymous works, and works made for hire (corporate authorship)	120 years from date of creation	Works created before 1883.
Unpublished works created before 1978 that are published before 1 January 2003	Life of the author + 70 years or 31 December 2047, whichever is greater	Nothing. The earliest that the publications can enter the public domain is 1 January 2048.
Unpublished works created before 1978 that are published after 31 December 2002	Life of the author + 70 years	Works of authors who died before 1933.
Unpublished works when the death date of the author is not known	120 years from date of creation⁵	Works created before 1883.

More...

A guide to investigating the copyright and renewal status of published work is Samuel Demas and Jennie L. Brogdon, "Determining Copyright Status for Preservation and Access: Defining Reasonable Effort," Library Resources and Technical Services 41:4 (October, 1997): 323-334.

A 1961 Copyright Office study found that fewer than 15% of all registered copyrights were renewed. For textual material (including books), the figure was even lower: 7%.

These works may still be copyrighted, but certification from the Copyright Office is a complete defense to any action for infringement.
^{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.}

Last updated: 11/06/2013 03:45:35 PM -0500

Jack Daley, Webmaster
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