A public domain work is a creative work that is not protected by copyright and which may be used freely by anyone. “Copyright” can be simply defined as “the right to copy.”
This means that anyone can copy or reproduce the work, either physically or digitally.
The reasons that the work is not protected include:
(1) the term of copyright for the work has expired; (2) the author failed to establish or renew lapsed copyright (3) the work was produced under the aegis of the U.S. Government.
In general, works of any kind created (when work is fixed in tangible medium of expression) on or since 1/1/1978 are protected by copyright for the duration of the author’s life, plus 70 years. Below is a simple chart of the basic details of current copyright policy.
| Date of Work | Protected from | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Created January 1, 1978 or after | When work is fixed in tangible medium of expression | Life + 70 years |
| Published before 1923 | In public domain | None |
| Published from 1923-1963 | When published with © or other notice | 28 years+ could be renewed for 47 years, now extended by 20 years for a total renewal of 67 years. If not so renewed, now in public domain |
| Published from 1964 – 1977 | When published with © or other notice | 28 years for first term; now automatic extension of 67 years for second term |
| Created before January 1, 1978 but not published | January 1, 1978, the effective date of the 1976 Act which eliminated common law copyright | Life + 70 years or December 31, 2002, whichever is greater |
| Created before January 1, 1978 between then and December 31, 2002 | January 1, 1978, the effective date of the 1976 Act which eliminated common law copyright | Life + 70 years or December 31, 2047 whichever is greater |
Some examples of books that are in the public domain:
- Edwin A. Abbott: Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
- Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice
- Henri Bergson: Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of Comic
- Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol
- Fyodor Dostoyevsky: Notes from the Underground
- Horace: The Works of Horace
- James Joyce: Ulysses
- Franz Kafka: Metamorphosis
- Marcel Proust: Remembrance of Things Past: Swann’s Way
- Oscar Wilde: The Picture of Dorian Gray