Copyright Law and the Public Domain

Copyright law is a complex matter in all countries.  Copyright law varies between countries, according mainly to type of product as well as where and when it was created.   There are  no hard and fast rules to determine what is and what is not in the public domain and no one knows for certain the true extent of the public domain, but there are solid guidelines for checking the vast majority of creative works. 

Anyone requiring definitive advice about the public domain should contact a specialist copyright lawyer.

We don't presume to offer legal advice; information contained here is the result of extensive research, given in good faith to the best of our understanding, and based on items known for certain to be in the public domain in their country of origin.   But bear in mind that copyright law varies between countries and what is copyright protected in one country may be public domain material elsewhere.

Anyone seeking public domain items to republish must check all products very carefully.  An item that looks to be in the public domain might be copyright protected as a derivative product ('derived' from the public domain) with no physical evidence to prove the fact.

Let's go back to what we said about adding something to a public domain item to create your own exclusive copyright.  Imagine I've just reprinted The Illustrated Book of the Dog by Vero Shaw, originally published in the 1880s. 

Imagine I've stayed true to the original format, my revised edition even looks old, and I haven't added my name or copyright notice to the new edition. 

But I have made some changes, I've added pictures and updated a few parts of the book.  You buy my book at a flea market, it looks old, you are certain it's in the public domain.  So you publish it as is.  And guess what, you've just broken my copyright, rather innocently, but all the same you've broken the law.

That was an example of a book that looks to be in the public domain but isn't.  Such mistakes are easy to make.

Tips

Some sites hosting public domain products allow their materials to be downloaded and read, but ban subsequent printing or copying.  Play safe, don't assume no one will know if you copy their content.  Many public domain works are edited or revised prior to upload and can easily be identified in later editions.  Some sites insist you pay a royalty on money you make from books they have sourced from the public domain.  Read the rules very carefully and do nothing until you are certain of your legal standing.

The best way to stay safe is to download from sites without copying restrictions or obtain and copy a physical version of a product you're sure is a first edition and in the public domain.

Under certain conditions creative works on which copyright was not renewed at an appropriate time or which did not include a copyright notice are deemed to be in the public domain.  So say you buy a book at auction, it has no copyright notice, does that put it in the public domain? Probably.  But look closely; it could be a page containing the copyright notice has been removed from the book, and it is still covered by copyright law.

Choose mainly from items known to definitely be in the public domain, of which there are millions, and avoid problems such as those just mentioned.  See the next section for details.

Items Known to be in the Public Domain in their Country of Origin

Currently all items published in the USA before 1923 are in the public domain, meaning they can be virtually copied at will.

Work first published in the USA between 1923 and 1963 where their copyright was not renewed in their 28^th year are in the public domain.

Works published in the USA between 1923 and 1978 without a legal copyright notice are in the public domain.  Be careful, make sure your book is intact for reasons mentioned earlier.  Books with reliable consecutive page numbering with no break in the sequence - such as 1, 2, 3, 4 - can usually be trusted, unlike another with pages numbered i, ii, iv.  What became of page iii, did it ever exist, has it been removed, was it a copyright page, or did it contain something else, perhaps it was blank!

Work first published in the USA after January 1^st 1978 retains copyright for the life of the author and seventy years thereafter, bearing close similarity to UK laws, see later paragraph.

Work first published in the USA between 1978 and March 1^st, 1989, without copyright notice and registration, is in the public domain.

In the UK copyright typically extends to 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the creator died (not the same as 70 years since the creator's death), with some other restrictions as explained concisely in Writers' and Artists' Yearbook available from all main reference libraries.  The book also covers US and other world copyright issues.

Works published before copyright laws existed are in the public domain.

Works dedicated so by the creator belong to the public domain.    A writer or other creator can dedicate his work to the public domain, thereby relinquishing ownership and allowing anyone to use the work, even change it, or sell copies.  Today's writers, offering master rights in their work for others to change and add their own name as author, are making much the same offer though not commonly regarded as adding to the public domain.  Those writers provide a whole host of information products for you to pick and choose from, repackage, combine with other items, even sometimes add your own name as writer.