Investigating the Copyright Status of a Work

• Copyright Terms: Determining When a Work Enters the Public Domain
• Copyright Records: Searching for Registration, Renewals, Transfers, and Other Documents

There are several methods for determining whether a given work is protected by copyright.

1. The first step is to examine a copy of the work for such elements as a copyright notice, a place and date of publication, an author, and publisher. If the work is a sound recording, examine the disk, tape cartridge, or cassette in which the recorded sound is fixed, or the album cover, sleeve, or container in which the recording is sold.
2. The next step is to determine what copyright laws existed when the work was created and/or published, and how those laws apply to the work now. Copyright laws have changed considerably over the years, and determining exactly which rules apply to a given work can be difficult. The resources listed under Copyright Terms can help you sort out which laws apply to a given work.
3. Under current law, a work is protected by copyright as soon as it is created in a tangible form. Before 1976, a work had to be registered with the Copyright Office to be protected by copyright, and works published before 1964 had to be renewed twenty-eight years later, or their copyright terms would expire. To determine the copyright status of certain works, it may be useful to search the records of the Copyright Office or hire someone to search these records for you. The resources listed under Copyright Records can help you determine whether a work was registered and/or renewed, and can help you determine who owns the copyright to a work.

How to Investigate the Copyright Status of a Work is a circular from the U.S. Copyright Office that explains in simple language the different methods available for determining the copyright status of a work. It is also available in paper in the Government Documents Reference Section on the Third Floor of Willis Library under Call Number LC 3.4/2:22.

Copyright Terms: Determining When a Work Enters the Public Domain

In most cases, once a work enters the public domain, it loses its copyright protection permanently and can be used freely. These resources can help determine whether a work's copyright term has expired yet.

Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States (Peter Hirtle - Cornell University)

This chart integrates all the various laws and regulations governing when a copyright term expires and makes it relatively easy to determine the copyright term for a specific work based on what kind of work it is, when it was created and/or published, and where it was created and/or published.

When Works Pass Into the Public Domain (Lolly Gassaway - North Carolina)

This chart indicates the copyright terms of various kinds of works. It is simpler to read than the similar chart by Peter Hirtle, but is less comprehensive and has not been updated since 2003.

Digital Copyright Slider (American Library Association)

 This online tool for determining the copyright status of a work was developed by the American Library Association’s Copyright Advisory Network in the Office for Information Technology Policy. Slide the arrow up and down a list of date ranges and conditions. The copyright status will appear in a box on the left. Click on the asterisk in the box to get a detailed explanation of the status. A paper version of the copyright slider is available for purchase.

Public Domain: How to Find Copyright-Free Writings, Music, Art & More, by Stephen Fishman (NetLibrary)

This book, available online to members of the UNT community, can be used to determine the copyright status of a work already in your possession, or you can use it to learn what types of works are in the public domain in general.  It includes an overview of copyright law and detailed information on using specific kinds of works such as music, art, photograph, movies, and maps. There is also a discussion of alternatives available when your work is not in the public domain.

Duration of Copyright (U.S. Copyright Office)

This circular provides a general summary of the statutory provisions dealing with duration of copyright under the Copyright Act of 1976, as amended June 26, 1992, and October 27, 1998. It also includes a description of duration under previous law and how the new law affects existing copyrights.

Renewal of Copyright (U.S. Copyright Office)

This circular from the Copyright Office explains the copyright renewal system as it existed under various laws and in various time periods. It explains the filing period, who can claim a renewal, and the procedure for registering a renewal claim.

Extensions of Copyright Terms (U.S. Copyright Office)

This circular will inform you of the provisions in the copyright statute affecting the duration of subsisting copyrights and give you some information with examples illustrating what these provisions mean. For works copyrighted for the first time on or after January 1, 1978, the statutory provisions governing the duration of protection are quite different and are not included in this circular.

New Terms for Copyright Protection (U.S. Copyright Office)

The Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, signed into law on October 27, 1998, amends the provisions concerning duration of copyright protection. This circular summarizes the main provisions of the Act.

Copyright Records: Searching for Registration, Renewals, Transfers, and Other Documents

If you don't know for sure whether a work's copyright has expired, you can search the catalogs and other records of the Copyright Office. Many of these can be searched online or in a local library such as Willis Library at UNT.

You can hire the Copyright Office to search their records for you, but this service is very expensive, especially if the search is difficult or you don't provide adequate preliminary data, and the results are not always conclusive. For details, see Searching by the Copyright Office.

Obtaining Access to and Copies of Copyright Office Records and Deposits (U.S. Copyright Office)

Information on what kinds of records are available from the Copyright Office, which records you can search yourself in person or online, and what services are available to have someone search records for you.

Search Copyright Records: Registrations and Documents (U.S. Copyright Office)

Use this database to search Copyright Office records (registrations, renewals, and other documents) dating from 1978 to the present. Also includes links and instructions for using LOCIS (Library of Congress Information System) for advanced, faster searches.

Catalog of Copyright Entries (U.S. Copyright Office)
Located on Third Floor of Willis Library, Call Number Z1219.U581–588

This catalog lists registered materials alphabetically by title, author, and claimant. Each entry includes bibliographic information, name of claimant, date of creation, date of registration, registration number, and other information. Each part of the eight-part catalog covers a specific category of material. 

Copyright Renewal Database (Stanford University)

This database makes searchable the copyright renewal records received by the US Copyright Office between 1950 and 1993 for books published in the US between 1923 and 1963. Note that the database includes only United States Class A (book) renewals. The period from 1923–1963 is of special interest for US copyrights, as works published after January 1, 1964 had their copyrights automatically renewed by the 1976 Copyright Act, and works published before 1923 have generally fallen into the public domain.

Copyright Renewal Records (Michael E. Lesk - Rutgers University)

This form searches the U. S. copyright renewal records for books. Any book published during the years 1923–1963 which is found in this file is still under copyright, as are all books published after 1964 (although until 1989 they still had to have proper notice and registration). Books published before 1923, or before Jan. 1, 1964 and not renewed, are in the public domain. This file does not contain listings for music, movies, or periodicals.

Selected Copyright Renewal Registrations, 1950–1977 (Online Books Page - University of Pennsylvania)

These are Project Gutenberg transcriptions of selected Copyright Office renewal records for 1950–1977. They include books, pamphlets, and serials.

First copyright renewals for periodicals (Online Books Page - University of Pennsylvania)

This is an inventory of periodicals and their first copyright renewals. Most periodicals published in the US prior to 1964 had to renew their issue copyrights after 28 years in order to retain copyright on the issue. The inventory includes all of the more than 1000 periodicals that renewed between 1950 and 1977, and selected periodicals that renewed between 1978 and 1992, or that did not renew their copyrights. (After 1992, copyright renewal was no longer required.) This may be useful as a guide to people who are interested in digitizing certain periodicals, to point out serials for which further copyright research may be fruitful.

New General Catalog of Old Books and Authors (kingkong)

This is an attempt to catalog all deceased authors, and all authors of books published before 1964, including their full name(s), date of death, date of birth, pseudonyms, sex and nationality (for non-EU citizens who died after c1920), and titles of all their works published before 1964. This is a mammoth project, and is only partially complete. When a work is avaliable online, there is usually a link to the online version.