A public domain work is a creative work that is not protected by copyright and which may be freely used by everyone. The reasons that the work is not protected include: (1) the term of copyright for the work has expired; (2) the author failed to satisfy statutory formalities to perfect the copyright or (3) the work is a work of the U.S. Government.
| DATE OF WORK | PROTECTED FROM | TERM |
| Created 1-1-78 or after | When work is fixed in tangible medium of expression | Life + 70 years1(or if work of corporate authorship, the shorter of 95 years from publication, or 120 years from creation2 |
| Published before 1923 | In public domain | None |
| Published from 1923 - 63 | When published with 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 - 77 | When published with notice | 28 years for first term; now automatic extension of 67 years for second term |
| Created before 1-1-78 but not published | 1-1-78, the effective date of the 1976 Act which eliminated common law copyright | Life + 70 years or 12-31-2002, whichever is greater |
| Created before 1-1-78 but published between then and 12-31-2002 |
1-1-78, the effective date of the 1976 Act which eliminated common law copyright | Life + 70 years or 12-31-2047 whichever is greater |
PUBLIC DOMAIN TREASURE HUNTER'S KIT by Logan Andrew. There are over 85 million books (and artwork, photographs, films and music) in the public domain that you can legally use to create your own profit-generating products. The treasure hunter's kit includes "Profiteering in the Public Domain," the "Copyright Navigator," "Public Domain Success Formula,"
and the "Public Domain Treasure Map," "Masters of the Public Domain," and more. The author positions this as "pirating," but it is not pirating. The books, magazines, newspapers, etc., offered ARE free for you to use and provide a completely legitimate business once you understand the "can dos" and "cannot dos" of public domain works. Click Here!