Public domain in the United States

Works are in the public domain if they are not covered by the intellectual property right known as copyright, or if the intellectual property rights to the works have expired. Works automatically enter the public domain when their copyright has expired. The United States Copyright Office is a federal agency tasked with maintaining copyright records.

All works (excepting sound recordings) first published or released in the United States before January 1, 1931, have lost their copyright protection 95 years later, effective January 1, 2026. In the same manner, works published in 1931 will enter the public domain as of January 1, 2027, and this cycle will repeat until works published in 2002 enter the public domain on January 1, 2098. Works of corporate authorship will continue to adhere to the 95-year term following the 2098 date. Under current copyright law, beginning in 2049, 1978 and beyond works by creators who died 70 years earlier will expire each year. For example, if a creator were to die in 2002, their works' copyright would last through the end of 2072 and enter the public domain on January 1, 2073.

Works that were published without a copyright notice before January 1, 1978 are also in the public domain, as are those published before March 1, 1989 if the copyright was not registered before or within five years of the date of publication and no effort was made to add a proper notice to subsequent copies. Works published before 1964 also entered the public domain if the copyright was not renewed 28 years later.