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Copyright

Public Domain

What About Content in the Public Domain?

Content in the public domain is not protected by copyright and is free to use by anyone without needing to obtain permissions. Content can enter the public domain by having its copyright expire, if copyright law does not protect the specific type of content, or if the copyright owner dedicates it to the public domain. Entire collections of public domain content may be subject to restrictions, but individual public domain content can be downloaded and re-used by anyone.

To determine if a particular work might be in the public domain use the chart, Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States, created for the Cornell Copyright Information Center by Peter B. Hirtle.

In the Public Domain

  • Works whose copyright protection has expired such as those published before January 1, 1929
  • Works produced by the federal government
  • Works published between January 1, 1929 and 1977 without a copyright notice
  • Works whose authors choose to place their work in the public domain (See Creative Commons licensing options)

Possible Public Domain

  • Research reports and other work funded by federal government agencies that appear in commercial publications or databases
  • Works published between January 1, 1929 and 1977 that did not have their copyrights renewed

Protected by Copyright

  • Anything created after March 1, 1989

"Louisiana Heron" by Robert Havell Jr. [Public Domain image from the National Gallery of Art]

Public Domain & Open Access Collections