Rules of thumb for determining when things enter the Public Domain
United States
1. Works first published before January 1, 1978 usually enter the public domain 75 years from the date copyright was first secured, which is usually 75 years from the date of first publication. (This is the rule Project Gutenberg uses most often)2. Works first created on or after January 1, 1978 enter the public domain 50 years after the death of the author if the author is a natural person. (Nothing will enter the public domain under this rule until at least January 1, 2023.)
3. Works first created on or after January 1, 1978 which are created by a corporate author enter the public domain 75 years after publication or 100 years after creation whichever occurs first. (Nothing will enter the public domain under this rule until at least January 1, 2053.)
4. Works created before January 1, 1978 but not published before that date are copyrighted under rules 2 and 3 above, except that in no case will the copyright on a work not published prior to January 1, 1978 expire before December 31, 2002. (This rule copyrights a lot of manuscripts that we would otherwise think of as public domain because of their age.)
6. If a substantional number of copies were printed and distributed in the U.S. without a copyright notice prior to March 1, 1989, the work is in the public domain in the U.S.
Caveat: Every time a substantially new edition is created, especially if it is a new translation or done by a new editor, a new work is created, so you count from the creation of that edition, not from the creation of the original.
United Kingdom and a lot of other countries.
The general rule is life of the author plus 50 years. I do not know what their rules are on corporate authors, and I am pretty sure that publication without a copyright notice does not put a work in the public domain in these countries.
Whose law applies?
When we distribute in the United States, U.S. law applies. When we distribute to other countries, their law applies. That is why Peter Pan is marked for US distribution only. It is public domain in the U.S. but not in the U.K.Under the 1909 Copyright Act, the original term lasted for 28 years (not 26). It was renewable for an extra 28 years for a total of 56 years. In the mid 1950's Congress started working on a major revision of the copyright act, but by 1960 it was clear that this would not be a short process. By 1962 it was clear that the new act would grant existing works a total term of 75 years. To prevent these works from losing out on the 75 year extension while Congress worked out all the other details of the new act, Congress started passing extension acts in 1962. They passed these acts from 1962 to 1976 with the result that all copyrights in existence in 1962 were extended to at least 1976 when the 75 year rule kicked in. So works published between 1917 and 1939 are not in the public domain yet.
A few public speeches are not copyrighted because they are not fixed in any tangible medium of expression. But if the speaker writes the speech down or authorizes it to be recorded or has someone record it at the time the speech is given, then it is fixed in a tangible medium of expression and it is copyrighted.
The I Have a Dream speech was written down on paper and registered with the Copyright Office. It is copyrighted and Mrs. King has at times enforced that copyright. This is also why associations which wish to tape conference presentations have to have copyright clearance from the speakers.
Rule of Thumb: Published at least 75 years ago in the U.S. OR published 50 years after the author's death in other countries.
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Last Update: 14 May 1994 by KLT