Works that are not protected by copyright are said to be in the public domain, meaning no permission is needed to copy, modify, translate, distribute, perform, or display them.
Public domain works are valuable resources for teaching, research, and creative projects because they can be freely used and adapted.
A work may enter the public domain for several reasons, including the expiration of copyright or the creator’s intentional release of rights.
What Works Are in the Public Domain?
- Works published before 1927 (copyright has expired)
- Many works published between 1927 and 1977, depending on whether they were published with a copyright notice
- Works intentionally placed in the public domain by the copyright holder
- Works not covered by copyright, such as U.S. federal government documents
