Wikisource

Help:Public domain

←
Help:Contents
Public domain
→

This page helps users determine whether a given work is in the public domain in the USA where Wikisource server is hosted, and which template to use.

This document attempts to clarify whether copyright applies but see also Copyright policy and Copyright tags for categories to use.

Criteria

edit

These tables summarise the conditions a work must meet in order to be safely considered public domain.[1][2]

Published in the United States

edit
Date of publication Condition[3] What is public domain Template
(Any time) prepared by an on-duty officer or employee of the United States Federal Government all works. {{PD-USGov}}
official documents of the United Nations[4] Official records, UN documents issued with a UN symbol, and not-for-sale public information materials designed primarily to inform the public about United Nations activities {{PD-UN}}
Before 1924 fixed before 15 February 1972. sound recordings. {{PD-US-music}}
Before 1929 none. all works except sound recordings. {{PD-US}}, {{PD-US|year of author's death}} if year of author's death is known, or {{PD-anon-US}} if anonymous or pseudonymous
1929–1963 no copyright notice all works. {{PD-US-no-notice}}
with notice, no renewal[b] all works except sound recordings. {{PD-US-no-renewal}}
with notice and renewal[b] Works published more than 95 years ago (1928 or earlier) none.
1964–1977 no copyright notice all works except sound recordings. {{PD-US-no-notice}}
with notice Works published more than 95 years ago (1928 or earlier) none.
1978–February 1989 no notice and no subsequent registration all works except sound recordings. {{PD-US-no-notice-post-1977}}
no notice, but subsequently registered Works of authors who died more than 70 years ago (1953 or earlier) none.
published with copyright notice, originally created in 1977 or earlier No works until 2048[5] none.
published with copyright notice, originally created in 1978 or later Works by authors who died more than 70 years ago (1953 or earlier); for anonymous or corporate works, the earlier of 95 years from publication or registration for copyright (1928 or earlier), or 120 years from creation (1904 or earlier); excluding sound recordings. none.
March 1989–2002 originally created in 1977 or earlier no works until 2048[5] none.
originally created in 1978 or later Works by authors who died more than 70 years ago (1953 or earlier); for anonymous or corporate works, the earlier of 95 years from publication or registration for copyright (1928 or earlier), or 120 years from creation (1904 or earlier); excluding sound recordings. none.
2003 or later none. Works by authors who died more than 70 years ago (1953 or earlier); for anonymous or corporate works, the earlier of 95 years from publication or registration for copyright (1928 or earlier), or 120 years from creation (1904 or earlier); excluding sound recordings. {{PD-old-US}}
none. none. Unpublished works by authors who died more than 70 years ago (1953 or earlier); for anonymous or corporate works, the earlier of 95 years from publication or registration for copyright (1928 or earlier), or 120 years from creation (1904 or earlier); excluding sound recordings. {{PD-old-US}}

Published outside the United States

edit

Note: Foreign works published after 1928 are likely to be still under copyright in the US because of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, even if they briefly entered public domain before the agreement.[6] Only unambiguous conditions are listed below.

Date of publication Condition What is public domain Template
Before 1928 none. all works. {{PD-US|year of author's death}}, or {{PD-anon-US}} if anonymous or pseudonymous
1929–1977 published before 1989, public domain in its home country as of its home country's URAA date (1 January 1996 in most countries), and never published in the US prior to that date all works. {{PD-1996}}, {{PD-1996|year of author's death}}, or {{PD-anon-1996}} if anonymous or pseudonymous
After 1 January 1978 copyright in its home country works by authors who died more than 95 years ago (1928)

Edict of a government, local or foreign

edit
Date of publication Conditions Public domain Template
any any Edict of a government, local or foreign; Documents include "judicial opinions, administrative rulings, legislative enactments, public ordinances, and similar official legal documents" {{PD-GovEdict}}

See Official texts for more information.

Published in Greater China

edit
Condition What is public domain Template
Works ineligible for copyright in Mainland China Laws; regulations; resolutions, decisions and orders of State organs; other documents of a legislative, administrative or judicial nature; and their official translations. {{PD-PRC-exempt}}
Official works of Macao Official works, in particular the texts of treaties, laws and regulations and those of reports or decisions by authorities of any kind, and translations thereof. {{PD-MacaoGov}}
Works ineligible for copyright in Taiwan The constitution, acts, regulations, official documents (including proclamations, text of speeches, news releases, and other documents prepared by civil servants in the course of carrying out their duties), and their translations and compilations by central or local government agencies. {{PD-ROC-exempt}}

Published in Germany

edit
Condition What is public domain Template
Official works of Germany Official works released by any German federal or state authority or court. Third party translations are not public domain until 70 years after the death of the translator. {{PD-DEGov}}

Published in Indonesia

edit
Condition What is public domain Template
Works ineligible for copyright Any result of an open meeting of a government institution; laws and regulations; government speeches or speeches of a government official; court decisions or judicial provisions; or scripture and religious symbols. {{PD-IndonesianGov}}

Unpublished works

edit

An unpublished work is one that has never been published in any form, or which was first published after 2003 but created before 1935.

Note for the European Union: If a previously unpublished work is published first time ("editio princeps") later than 70 years after the death of the author, then it is no more public domain but it is granted a copyright for 25 years (Council Directive 93/98/EEC, see here)
Type of work What is public domain Template
  • Most works (except those below)
  • or created before 1978 and published after 2002
 Works of authors who died more than 70 years ago (1953) {{PD-old-US}}
  • anonymous or pseudonymous
  • or author's date of death unknown
 Works created more than 120 years ago (1903) {{PD-old}}
  • all works created before 1978 and published 1978–2002
 No works until 2048[a] None

Miscellaneous

edit
Condition What is public domain Template
No creative content Some works (vague) {{PD-ineligible}}
Copyright released by holder All works {{PD-release}}
edit

These tables outline the estimated length of time of copyright per country[7][8][9]. Laws regarding anonymous works, corporate-authored works, or non-literary works vary per country. This is not intended to be used as a legal guideline since it cannot reflect the complexity of the copyright laws in effect at any one time and since copyright laws are changing continuously; this section simply provides a useful summary as part of a more in-depth research. See also the following Wikipedia copyright length lists for further information:

Country Copyright length
Albania life + 70
Algeria life + 50
Andorra life + 70
Angola life + 50
Argentina life + 70
Armenia life + 50
Aruba unknown
Australia life + 50 if author died before 1955, otherwise life + 70
Austria life + 70
Azerbaijan life + 50
Bahrain life + 50
Bangladesh life + 50
Barbados life + 50
Belarus life + 50
Belgium life + 70
Belize life + 50
Benin life + 50
Bhutan life + 50
Bolivia life + 50
Bosnia and Herzegovina life + 70
Brazil
  • life + 70 for known authors[10]
  • first publication + 70 for anonymous or pseudonymous works (only if the author doesn't make his identity known before the expiry)[11]
  • first publication + 70 for audiovisual and photographic works[12], phonograms and transmission for the broadcasts of broadcasting organizations[13]
  • texts of treaties or conventions, laws, decrees, regulations, judicial decisions and other official enactments shall be excluded from copyright protection[14]
Brunei life + 50
Bulgaria life + 70
Burkina Faso life + 50
Burundi life + 50
Cambodia life + 50
Cameroon life + 50
Canada life + 50 if author died before 1972, otherwise life + 70
Cape Verde life + 50
Chile life + 70
China life + 50
Colombia life + 80
Costa Rica life + 70
Cote d'Ivoire life + 99
Croatia life + 50 if author died before 1949[15], otherwise life + 70 [16][17]
Cuba life + 50
Czech Republic life + 70
Denmark life + 70
Djibouti life + 25
Dominica life + 70
Dominican Republic life + 50
Ecuador life + 70
Egypt life + 50
El Salvador life + 50
Estonia life + 70
European Union life + 70
Fiji life + 50
Finland life + 70
France life + 70, unless Mort pour la France
Georgia life + 50
Germany life + 70
Ghana life + 70
Greece life + 70
Guatemala life + 75
Honduras life + 75
Hong Kong life + 50
Hungary life + 70
Iceland life + 70
India life + 60 for literary or musical works or artistic works, publication + 60 for others[18].
Indonesia life + 50
Iran life + 30
Iraq life + 50 (imposed by occupying provisional authority)
Ireland life + 70
Israel life + 70
Italy life + 70
Jamaica life + 95 (this was changed from life + 50 in 2015)
Japan life + 50 (publication + 70 years for motion pictures)
Jordan life + 50
Kazakhstan life + 50
Kenya life + 50
Korea (South) life + 50
Kuwait life + 50
Kyrgyzstan life + 50
Latvia life + 70
Lebanon life + 50
Libya life + 25, with 50-year minimum (as of 1968; may have changed since)
Liechtenstein life + 70
Lithuania life + 70
Luxembourg life + 70
Macao life + 50
Madagascar life + 70
Malaysia life + 50
Maldives none
Mali life + 50
Malta life + 70
Marshall Islands none
Mauritius life + 50
Mexico life + 100
Moldova life + 50
Mongolia life + 50
Montenegro life + 70
Morocco life + 50
Namibia life + 50
The Netherlands life + 70
New Zealand life + 50
Nicaragua life + 70
Niger life + 50

According to Ch. II, Art. 6 of the Nigerien copyright law, items not protected are:

  • official texts of legislative, administrative or judiciary nature, or official translations of such texts,
  • current news items,
  • single facts and statements.
Nigeria life + 70
Norway life + 70
Oman life + 50
Pakistan life + 50
Palau life + 50
Panama life + 50
Papua New Guinea life + 50
Paraguay life + 70
Peru life + 70
Philippines life + 50
Poland life + 70
Portugal life + 70
Qatar life + 50
Romania life + 70
Russia life + 70(74) (life + 50(54) for works whose copyright expired before January 1, 2004)[19]
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines life + 50
Samoa life + 75
Saudi Arabia life + 50
Serbia life + 70
Seychelles life + 25
Singapore life + 70
Slovakia life + 70
Slovenia life + 70
Solomon Islands life + 50
South Africa life + 50
Spain life + 80 if author died before December 07, 1987[20], otherwise life + 70 [21]
Sudan life + 50
Swaziland life + 50
Sweden life + 70
Switzerland life + 70
Syria life + 50
Taiwan life + 50
Tajikistan life + 50
Tanzania life + 50
Thailand life + 50
Togo life + 50
Tonga life + 50
Trinidad and Tobago life + 50
Tunisia life + 50
Turkey life + 70
United Arab Emirates life + 50
United Kingdom life + 70
United States of America expired for works published before 1929; 28 or 95 years for works copyrighted 1929–1963; 95 years for works copyrighted 1964–1977; thereafter life+70.
Uruguay life + 50
Uzbekistan life + 50
Venezuela life + 60
Vietnam life + 50
Yemen life + 30
Zambia life + 50
Zimbabwe life + 50

Notes

edit

Footnotes

edit
  • a  These works have copyright terms extending 70 years beyond the author's life, or until 31 December 2047 (whichever is greater), pursuant to 17 United States Code 303.
  • b  The United States Copyright renewal records search engine is a useful tool for determining renewal status: it has registrations and renewals after 1978. Stanford Copyright Renewal Database has renewals before 1978.

References

edit
  1. ↑ The criteria tables are primarily derived from the Cornell Copyright Information Center's Public Domain chart, which is copyrighted by Peter Hirtle and released under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License 2.0.
  2. ↑ Copyright durations, Bromberg and Sunstein, LLP
  3. ↑ Circular 15a from the United States Copyright Office
  4. ↑ As Section 7 of the United States Headquarters Agreement for the United Nations, Public Law 80-357 applies the United States laws to the United Nations Headquarters, works published there are copyrighted in the same way as other works published in the United States.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 s304 Copyright Act 1976 "Copyright in a work created before January 1, 1978, but not theretofore in the public domain or copyrighted, subsists from January 1, 1978, and endures for the term provided by section 302 [17 USCS Sect. 302]. In no case, however, shall the term of copyright in such a work expire before December 31, 2002; and, if the work is published on or before December 31, 2002, the term of copyright shall not expire before December 31, 2027." s302 states "Copyright in a work created on or after January 1, 1978, subsists from its creation and, except as provided by the following subsections, endures for a term consisting of the life of the author and fifty years after the author's death." The Copyright Term Extension Act extended the dates to December 31, 2047 and seventy years after death.
  6. ↑ Highlights of Copyright Amendments Contained in the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA). Circular 38b (Portable Document Format), Library of Congress Copyright Office
  7. ↑ How Can I Tell Whether a Book Can Go Online?, Online Books Page
  8. ↑ Summary of copyright terms The Online Books Page
  9. ↑ Collection of National Copyright Laws, United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation
  10. ↑ Law No. 9610 of February 19, 1998, on Copyright and Neighboring Rights, article 41
  11. ↑ Law No. 9610 of February 19, 1998, on Copyright and Neighboring Rights, article 43
  12. ↑ Law No. 9610 of February 19, 1998, on Copyright and Neighboring Rights, article 44
  13. ↑ Law No. 9610 of February 19, 1998, on Copyright and Neighboring Rights, article 96
  14. ↑ Law No. 9610 of February 19, 1998, on Copyright and Neighboring Rights, article 8
  15. ↑ NN 1999/9 Zakon o autorskom pravu (pročišćeni tekst) old law life +50
  16. ↑ NN 1999/76 Zakon o izmjenama i dopunama Zakona o autorskom pravu change from life +50 to life +70
  17. ↑ Zakon o autorskom pravu i srodnim pravima (valid law)
  18. ↑ A Hand Book of Copyright Law, Government of India Ministry of Human Resource Development
  19. ↑ copyright.ru (Russian)
  20. ↑ Disposición transitoria cuarta. Autores fallecidos antes del 7 de diciembre de 1987. Ley de propiedad intelectual
  21. ↑ Artículo 26. Ley de propiedad intelectual

See also

edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=Help:Public_domain&oldid=13997736"
  NODES
HOME 4
languages 1
mac 3
Note 7
os 13
server 1
text 8
Users 1
visual 1