Generally speaking, the public domain is a collection of creative works not bound to or protected by intellectual property laws; namely, copyright laws. This is to say that such creative works may be referenced, used, modified, or distributed by third parties without requiring the permission of or payments to the original author or creator. So, if you are an author or creator, you must understand how your work may tiptoe the public domain line. With that being said, please read on to discover what types of works can be found in the public domain and how a seasoned New Jersey copyright lawyer at The Ingber Law Firm can help guide you if your work ends up there.
What types of works can be found in the public domain?
Per the United States Copyright Law, any original works published before the year 1923 are generally part of the public domain. Then, works published between the years 1929 and 1989 may or may not be part of the public domain, depending on whether they complied with certain copyright laws. More specific examples of this are as follows:
- Original works published before the year 1963, if their copyright was not renewed within 28 years.
- Original works published before the year 1977, if they were published without a copyright notice.
- Original works published before March of 1989, if they did not have a copyright register within five years of their publication date.
In addition, newer original works have gradually entered the public domain. This is because copyright law typically holds that a copyright only lasts 70 years after the author’s or creator’s death. Examples of original works that entered the public domain in the year 2024 are Steamboat Willie (i.e., Disney’s 1928 cartoon film) and The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (i.e., the final set of Sherlock Holmes short stories).
How might my works enter the public domain?
There may be an instance where you wish to dedicate your original work to the public, which you may indicate with a “No Rights Reserved” notice. But on the flip side, you may want to profit and reap the benefits of the hard work you put into creating your original work, and thereby want it to bypass entering the public domain at all costs. In this case, you should become aware of, and then consciously avoid, the varying scenarios in which your work would validly wind up here. Such scenarios read as follows:
- You may have failed to renew the copyright registration for your original work on time.
- You may have failed to obtain a copyright notice for your original work in the first place.
- You may have been a government employee who created an original work for the United States government.
If you still have doubts about how to proceed forward, please consult with a seasoned Essex County, New Jersey intellectual property lawyer. Our team at The Ingber Law Firm will point you in the right direction.
