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Digitization Projects: Does Your Library Have the Rights and
Permissions It Needs?
Library Digitization
Projects: U.S. Copyrighted Works
that have Expired into the Public Domain Mary Minow, LibraryLaw.com |
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CURRENT YEAR |
Published or Registered before
1978 |
Unpublished (and not Registered) |
||
|
Publication or Reg. date
+ 95 yrs The dates below are
conservative, representing the maximum term. Major Exceptions: -Works published before 1964 that were not
renewed are in the public domain -Works published before
1978 that have no © notice are in the public domain - Works created over 120
years ago |
Libraries & Archives Not Public Domain but
libraries and archives may copy in final 20 years if not subject to normal
commercial exploitation This exception does not
apply to subsequent users |
Works Made for Hire and Anonymous Authors Creation date + 120
years |
Personal Authors Life plus 70 yrs; last to die if joint authors Death Year: |
2002 |
1922 |
1926 |
NONE |
NONE |
2003 |
1922 |
1927 |
1882 |
1932 |
2004 |
1922 |
1928 |
1883 |
1933 |
2005 |
1922 |
1929 |
1884 |
1934 |
2006 |
1922 |
1930 |
1885 |
1935 |
2007 |
1922 |
1931 |
1886 |
1936 |
2008 |
1922 |
1932 |
1887 |
1937 |
2009 |
1922 |
1933 |
1888 |
1938 |
2010 |
1922 |
1934 |
1889 |
1939 |
2011 |
1922 |
1935 |
1890 |
1940 |
2012 |
1922 |
1936 |
1891 |
1941 |
2013 |
1922 |
1937 |
1892 |
1942 |
2014 |
1922 |
1938 |
1893 |
1943 |
2015 |
1922 |
1939 |
1894 |
1944 |
2016 |
1922 |
1940 |
1895 |
1945 |
2017 |
1922 |
1941 |
1896 |
1946 |
2018 |
1922 |
1942 |
1897 |
1947 |
2019 |
1923 |
1943 |
1898 |
1948 |
2020 |
1924 |
1944 |
1899 |
1949 |
2021 |
1925 |
1945 |
1900 |
1950 |
2022 |
1926 |
1946 |
1901 |
1951 |
2023 |
1927 |
1947 |
1902 |
1952 |
2024 |
1928 |
1948 |
1903 |
1953 |
For a detailed discussion of
copyright duration, see
Charts
For readable charts that
cover all years (including works published since 1978, which are not covered in
this chart), see Cornell Institute for Digital Collections, When Works Pass Into the Public Domain in the
United States: Copyright Term for Archivists and Librarians, first
published in published in Peter B. Hirtle, "Recent Changes To The
Copyright Law: Copyright Term Extension," Archival Outlook, January/February 1999, at
http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/training/Hirtle_Public_Domain.htm . It is
based in part on Laura N. Gasaway's chart, When
Works Pass into the Public Domain, at
http://www.unc.edu/~unclng/public-d.htm. For a chart that looks at
harmonization with the European Union, see Dennis S. Karjala's Chart Showing Changes Made by the CTEA and the
Degree of Harmonization Achieved and Disharmonization Exacerbated by the Sonny
Bono Copyright Term Extension Act at
http://homepages.law.asu.edu/~dkarjala/OpposingCopyrightExtension/legmats/HarmonizationChartDSK.html
created May 15, 2002.
Legal Authority
37 C.F.R. Sec. 201.39 (2001) Notice to
Libraries and Archives of Normal Commercial Exploitation or Availability at
Reasonable Price at http://www.copyright.gov/title37/201/37cfr201-39.pdf
17 U.S.C. Sec. 107 Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair
use at http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html
17 U.S.C. Sec. 108 Limitations on exclusive rights:
Reproduction by libraries and archives at
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/108.html
Notes:
1922 FREEZE: The Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act added
twenty years to copyright terms. Public Law 105-298, 112 Stat. 2827 (1998).
This explains why works published after 1922 are "frozen" until 2019.
Works published in 1922 and earlier had already gone into the public domain at
that time the law went into effect in 1998. This Act was upheld by the Supreme
Court in Eldred v Ashcroft, 537 U.S. 186 (2003) at
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/02pdf/01-618.pdf . For more information
see http://eldred.cc/
FOREIGN WORKS: Although works that fall into the public domain have not
had their copyrights restored by the Bono Act, it should be noted that some
foreign works have had their copyrights restored under the Uruguay Round
Agreements Act (URAA). Works from certain countries that did not comply with
formalities of
UNPUBLISHED WORKS - NONE
UNTIL 2003: An unpublished work that
was not registered with the Copyright office had perpetual copyright under the
common law. The Copyright Act of 1976 ended perpetual copyright and gives these
works the same terms as published works since 1978. However, the Act also gave
a grace period that ends
WORKS PUBLISHED SINCE
1978: For works published 1978 and
later, the term is for the life of the author plus 70 years for natural
persons. Works by corporate authors and anonymous authors remains the same: 95
years from date of publication or 120 years from date of creation (whichever is
less).
RENEWALS: Copyright renewals were necessary for works published
or registered before
RENEWAL SEARCHES: To find out whether a particular work was renewed,
see
LIBRARY EXCEPTION: First, note that this exception does not apply to musical
works, pictorial, graphic or sculptural works, nor to motion pictures or other
audiovisual works other than audiovisual works dealing with news. The exception
reads:
"(h) (1) For purposes of
this section, during the last 20 years of any term of copyright of a published
work, a library or archives, including a nonprofit educational institution that
functions as such, may reproduce, distribute, display, or perform in facsimile
or digital form a copy or phonorecord of such work, or portions thereof, for
purposes of preservation, scholarship, or research, if such library or archives
has first determined, on the basis of a reasonable investigation, that none of
the conditions set forth in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) of paragraph (2)
apply.
(2)No reproduction,
distribution, display, or performance is authorized under this subsection if -
(A) the work is subject to
normal commercial exploitation;
(B) a copy or phonorecord of
the work can be obtained at a reasonable price; or
(C) the copyright owner or
its agent provides notice pursuant to regulations promulgated by the Register
of Copyrights that either of the conditions set forth in subparagraphs (A) and
(B) applies.
(3)The exemption provided in
this subsection does not apply to any subsequent uses by users other than such
library or archives.
(i) The rights of
reproduction and distribution under this section do not apply to a musical
work, a pictorial, graphic or sculptural work, or a motion picture or other
audiovisual work other than an audiovisual work dealing with news, except that
no such limitation shall apply with respect to rights granted by subsections
(b) and (c), or with respect to pictorial or graphic works published as
illustrations, diagrams, or similar adjuncts to works of which copies are
reproduced or distributed in accordance with subsections (d) and (e)." 17 USC Sec. 108
See also 37 C.F.R. Sec. 201.39 Notice to
Libraries and Archives of Normal Commercial Exploitation or Availability at
Reasonable Price, and
WORKS MADE FOR HIRE: Works Made for Hire are works (1) prepared by an
employee within the scope of his or her employment; or (2) specially ordered or
commissioned for use as a contribution to a collective work, as a part of a
motion picture or other audiovisual work, as a translation, as a supplementary
work, as a compilation, as an instructional text, as a test, as answer material
for a test, or as an atlas, if the parties expressly agree in a written
instrument signed by them that the work shall be considered a work made for
hire. For more detail, see
AUTHOR'S DEATH UNKNOWN: Presumption as to Author's Death. After a period of 95
years from the year of first publication of a work, or a period of 120 years from
the year of its creation, whichever expires first, any person who obtains from
the Copyright Office a certified report is entitled to the benefit of a
presumption that the author has been dead for at least 70 years. Reliance in
good faith upon this presumption shall be a complete defense to any action for
infringement under this title. 17 USC Sec. 302(e) (2001).
TERMS END DECEMBER 31 EACH
YEAR: Copyright terms expire at the
end of the calendar year in which they are due to expire. Thus a copyright
actually can last, for example, 95 years and 5 months. 17 U.S.C. Sec. 305 (2001).
FOR WORKS STILL UNDER
COPYRIGHT- GET PERMISSION. If you can
track down the copyright owner (see
See also
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. (not posted to the Web).
Peter Hirtle, "Unpublished Materials, New Technologies, and
Copyright: Facilitating Scholarly Use," Interdisciplinary
Conference on the Impact of Technological Change on the Creation, Dissemination,
and Protections of Intellectual Property," The
© 2002-2004 by Mary Minow
Some Rights Reserved. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/1.0/
or send a letter to Creative Commons,
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