Commons:Hirtle chart

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This is a Commons tags translation table of the chart created by Peter B. Hirtle of Cornell University, now uploaded as this PDF document. It is a best effort to guide people in determining when media will enter the public domain in the United States.

For further information about US copyright rules on Commons, see Commons:Copyright rules by territory/United States.

Beware:

Use at your own risk

Works except sound recordings and architecture

This table is for image and text works. See also the separate sections for Sound recordings and Architectural works.

Never published, Never registered works
Type of work	Copyright Term	What was in the public domain in the US as of 1 January 2024	Commons copyright tag
Unpublished works	Known author with a known date of death: 70 years after the death of author.	Works from author who died before 1954	{{PD-US-unpublished}}
Unpublished anonymous and pseudonymous works, and works made for hire (corporate authorship) Unpublished works when the death date of the author is not known	120 years from creation	Created before 1904	{{PD-US-unpublished}}
Works Registered or First Published in the U.S.
Date of Publication	Conditions	Copyright Term	Commons copyright tag
Before 1929	None	None. In the public domain due to copyright expiration	{{PD-US-expired}}
1929 through 1977	Published without a copyright notice	None. In the public domain due to failure to comply with required formalities	{{PD-US-no notice}}
1978 through 28 February 1989	Published without notice, and without subsequent registration within 5 years	None. In the public domain due to failure to comply with required formalities	{{PD-US-1978-89}}
1978 through 28 February 1989	Published without notice, but with subsequent registration within 5 years	Known author with a known date of death: 70 years after the death of author. Other works^[1]: 95 years from publication OR 120 years from creation, whichever expires first	{{PD-old-70}} n/a (earliest 2074) OR {{PD-US-unpublished}}
1929 through 1963	Published with notice but copyright was not renewed	None. In the public domain due to copyright expiration	{{PD-US-not renewed}}
1929 through 1963	Published with notice and the copyright was renewed	95 years after publication date	n/a (earliest 2025)
1964 through 1977	Published with notice	95 years after publication date	n/a (earliest 2060)
1978 through 28 February 1989	Created after 1977 and published with notice	Known author with a known date of death: 70 years after the death of author Other works^[1]: 95 years from publication OR 120 years from creation, whichever expires first	n/a (earliest 2049), but after 2049 either: {{PD-old-70}} n/a (earliest 2074) OR n/a (earliest 2099)
1978 through 28 February 1989	Created before 1978 and first published with notice in the specified period	The greater of the term specified in the previous entry or 31 December 2047	n/a (earliest 2049), but after 2049 either: {{PD-old-70}} n/a (earliest 2074) {{PD-US-unpublished}}
1 March 1989 through 2002	Created after 1977	Known author with a known date of death: 70 years after the death of author. Other works^[1]: 95 years from publication OR 120 years from creation, whichever expires first	n/a (earliest 2049), but after 2049 either: {{PD-old-70}} n/a (earliest 2085) OR n/a (earliest 2098)
1 March 1989 through 2002	Created before 1978 and first published in this period	The greater of the term specified in the previous entry or 31 December 2047	n/a (earliest 2049), but after 2049 either: {{PD-old-70}} n/a (earliest 2085) OR {{PD-US-unpublished}}
2003 or later	None	Known author with a known date of death: 70 years after the death of author. Other works^[1]: 95 years from publication OR 120 years from creation, whichever expires first	{{PD-old-70}} n/a (earliest 2099) OR {{PD-US-unpublished}}
Anytime	Works prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that person's official duties.	None. In the public domain in the United States (17 U.S.C. § 105)	One of the copyright templates in Category:PD-USGov license tags
Anytime	Works released into the public domain by the copyright holder.	None.	{{PD-self}} {{PD-user}} {{PD-author}}
Works First Published Outside the U.S. by citizens of foreign nations^[2] or U.S. Citizens Living Abroad. On Commons these cases also need to be free according to copyright terms in the country of publication. These terms are not part of this table.
Date of Publication	Conditions	Copyright Term	Commons copyright tag
Before 1929	None	In the public domain (But see first special case below)	{{PD-US-expired}}
Works Published Abroad Before 1978
1929 through 1977	Published without compliance with US formalities, and in the public domain in its source country as of URAA date^[3]	In the public domain	{{PD-1996}}
1929 through 1977	Published in compliance with all US formalities (notice, and renewal for pre-1964 works)	95 years after publication date	(earliest 2025)
1929 through 1977	Solely published abroad, without compliance with US formalities or republication in the US, and not in the public domain in its home country as of URAA date^[3]	95 years after publication date	(earliest 2025)
1929 through 1977	Published in the US less than 30 days after publication abroad	Use the US publication chart to determine duration
1929 through 1977	Published in the US more than 30 days after publication abroad, without compliance with US formalities, and not in the public domain in its home country as of URAA date^[3]	95 years after publication date	(earliest 2025)
Works Published Abroad After 1 January 1978
1 January 1978 through 28 February 1989	Published without copyright notice, and in the public domain in its source country as of URAA date^[3]	In the public domain	{{PD-1996}}
1 January 1978 through 28 February 1989	Published with copyright notice	Use the US publication chart to determine duration
1 March 1989 or later	Published without copyright notice, and in the public domain in its source country as of URAA date^[3]	Use the US publication chart to determine duration
1 January 1978 or later	Published either with or without copyright notice, and not in the public domain in its home country as of URAA date^[3]	Use the US publication chart to determine duration
Special Cases
1 July 1909 through 1978	In Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands ONLY. Published in a language other than English, and without subsequent republication with a copyright notice	Treat as an unpublished work until such date as first US-compliant publication occurred
Anytime	Created by a resident of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Marshall Islands, or Timor-Leste and published in one of these countries. Works from Palau, Somalia or South Sudan may also be included	Not protected by US copyright law until they become party to bilateral or international copyright agreements	{{Copyright notes}}
Anytime	Works whose copyright was once owned or administered by the Alien Property Custodian, and whose copyright, if restored, would as of the URAA date^[3], be owned by a government	Not protected by US copyright law	{{PD-US-alien property}}
Anytime	If published in one of the following countries, the URAA date given above is replaced by the date of the country's membership in the Berne Convention or the World Trade Organization, whichever is earlier: Afghanistan, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Cook Islands, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Grenada, Haiti, Jersey, Jordan, Kiribati, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Micronesia, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nauru, Nepal, Niue, Oman, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Samoa, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Yemen	...	...

Sound recordings

The following information applies only to the sound recording itself, and not to any copyrights in underlying compositions or texts.

Date of Fixation/Publication	Conditions	What was in the public domain in the U.S. as of 1 January 2024	Commons copyright tag
Unpublished Sound Recordings, Domestic and Foreign
Prior to 15 Feb. 1972	Indeterminate	Subject to state common law protection. Enters the public domain on 15 Feb. 2067	(latest 15 Feb. 2067)
15 Feb. 1972 or later	Life of the author + 70 years. For anonymous and corporate works,^[1] 120 years from the date of fixation	Nothing. The soonest anything enters the public domain is 15 Feb. 2067	(earliest 15 Feb. 2067)
Sound Recordings Published in the United States
Prior to 1924	None	In the public domain	{{PD-US-record-expired}}
1924 to 1946	None	100 years from publication	(earliest 2025)
1947 to 1956	None	110 years from publication	(earliest 2058)
1957 to 14 Feb. 1972	None	Enters the public domain on 15 Feb. 2067	(earliest 15 Feb. 2067)
15 Feb. 1972 through 1977	Published without notice (i.e., year of publication, and name of copyright owner)	In the public domain	{{PD-US-no notice}}
15 Feb. 1972 through 1977	Published with notice	95 years from publication. 2068 at the earliest	(earliest 2068)
1978 through 28 February 1989	Published without notice, and without subsequent registration	In the public domain	{{PD-US-1978-89}}
1978 through 28 February 1989	Published with notice	70 years after death of author, or if work of corporate authorship, the shorter of 95 years from publication, or 120 years from creation. 2049 at the earliest
1 March 1989 or later	None	Known author with a known date of death: 70 years after the death of author. Other works^[1]: 95 years from publication OR 120 years from creation, whichever expires first 2049 at the earliest	(earliest 2049), after 2049 {{PD-old-70}} (earliest 2085) (earliest 2110)
Anytime	Sound recordings fixed by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that person's official duties.	None. In the public domain in the United States (17 U.S.C. § 105)	One of the copyright templates in Category:PD-USGov license tags
Anytime	Works released into the public domain by the copyright holder.	None.	{{PD-self}} {{PD-user}} {{PD-author}}
Sound Recordings Published Outside the United States
Prior to 1924	None	In the public domain	{{PD-US-record-expired}}
1924 to 1946	None	100 years from publication	(earliest 2025)
1947 to 1956	None	110 years from publication	(earliest 2058)
1957 to 14 Feb. 1972	None	Enters the public domain on 15 Feb. 2067	(earliest 15 Feb. 2067)
15 Feb. 1972 through 28 February 1989	In the public domain in its home country as of URAA date^[3] or there was US publication within 30 days of the foreign publication (but see special cases)	Subject to state common law protection. Enters the public domain on 15 Feb. 2067	(latest 15 Feb. 2067)
15 Feb. 1972 through 1977	Not in the public domain in its home country as of URAA date^[3]. At least one author of the work was not a US citizen or was living abroad, and there was no US publication within 30 days of the foreign publication (but see special cases)	95 years from date of publication. 2068 at the earliest	n/a (earliest 2068)
1978 through 28 February 1989	Not in the public domain in its home country as of URAA date^[3]. At least one author of the work was not a US citizen or was living abroad, and there was no US publication within 30 days of the foreign publication (but see special cases)	Known author with a known date of death: 70 years after the death of author. Other works^[1]: 95 years from publication OR 120 years from creation, whichever expires first	{{PD-old-70}} (earliest 2074) (earliest 2099)
1 March 1989 or later	None	Known author with a known date of death: 70 years after the death of author. Other works^[1]: 95 years from publication OR 120 years from creation, whichever expires first	{{PD-old-70}} (earliest 2085) (earliest 2110)
Special Cases
Fixed at any time	Created by a resident of Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Marshall Islands, or Timor-Leste and published in one of these countries. Works from Palau, Somalia or South Sudan may also be included	Not protected by US copyright law because they are not party to international copyright agreements	n/a, n/a, {{PD-Iran}}, {{PD-Iraq}}
Fixed prior to 1996	Works whose copyright was once owned or administered by the Alien Property Custodian, and whose copyright, if restored, would as of URAA date^[3] be owned by a government	Not protected by US copyright law	{{PD-US-alien property}}
Fixed at any time	If fixed or solely published in one of the following countries, the URAA date given above is replaced by the date of the country's membership in the Berne Convention or the World Trade Organization, whichever is earlier: Afghanistan, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Cook Islands, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Grenada, Haiti, Jersey, Jordan, Kiribati, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Malaysia, Micronesia, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nauru, Nepal, Niue, Oman, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Samoa, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Yemen	...	...

Architectural works

Architectural plans and drawings may also be protected as textual/graphics works

Date of Design	Date of Construction	Copyright Status	Commons copyright tag
Prior to 1 Dec. 1990	Not constructed by 31 Dec. 2002	Protected only as plans or drawings	{{PD-US-architecture}}
Prior to 1 Dec. 1990	Constructed by 1 Dec. 1990	Protected only as plans or drawings	{{PD-US-architecture}}
Prior to 1 Dec. 1990	Constructed between 30 Nov. 1990 and 31 Dec. 2002	Building is protected for 70 years after death of author, or if work of corporate authorship, the shorter of 95 years from publication, or 120 years from creation	{{FoP-US}}
From 1 Dec. 1990	Immaterial	Building is protected for 70 years after death of author, or if work of corporate authorship, the shorter of 95 years from publication, or 120 years from creation	{{FoP-US}}

References

Notes

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Anonymous works, pseudonymous works, works made for hire, and works where the date of author's death is unknown
↑ US English term: Foreign nationals
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k 1 January 1996 for most countries; see w:Wikipedia:Non-U.S. copyrights for the most current list

Bibliography

CC-BY-4.0

© 2004–2024 Peter B. Hirtle. Last updated 31 January 2019. Use of this chart is governed by the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License
Wiki adaptation by User:TheDJ. If you spot an error, please discuss on the Talk page.
This page does not constitute legal advice.