Time: the Duration of Copyright Protection

In the United States the duration of copyright is generally the life of the individual author/artist¹ plus 70 years, so long as the work was made on or after January 1, 1978.  During this period of time, the bundle of exclusive rights (the copyrights) belong to the artist/owner, unless that person sells or transfers them.  If another person infringes the artwork–by making copies without permission, the copier (infringer) has possibly violated the copyrights and may be liable.  The owner of the copyright (the artist) can sue the infringer and if successful, the infringer may have to pay damages (money) to the artist/owner.²  Alternatively a lawsuit may ask for an injunction, a court order to stop the infringing activity.

After the copyright term expires, the artwork is considered to have entered the public domain and anyone may use it freely.  Note that the term/duration of copyright is different for works made by an entity, such as a business that hires people to create a work for company. The term is also different for work made under a pseudonym (pen name). It is important to be aware that it may not be possible to determine when a work enters the public domain based upon the date alone. By whom and how it was made is significant as well.³


Copyright Terms for works created on or after January 1, 1978:

	Created	Term
	By 1 author (artist)	} life of author + 70 years
	As a Joint Work - 2 or more authors (artists), not as "work for hire"	} life of last surving author + 70 years
	As work for hire, as anonymous work, or for pseudonymous works (identity of author not revealed to copyright office)	} 95 years from publication OR 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter

The following graphic illustrates how copyright duration functions under the current copyright system. In this example, the hypothetical artist was born in 1965. The actual birthdate is not relevent to copyright, but the date the artwork was made is important because there was a change in the law that effects works made on or after January 1, 1978. In this example, the artwork was made in 1999, for the purpose of illustrating the current law. The hypothetical aritst lives to be 99 years old, dying in 2064. At this time (assuming Congress hasn't changed the law in the intervening time), the "+70 years" comes into play. The copyright extends another 70 years after the death of the artist. If the artist did not sell or transfer his or her copyright in the work, then the copyright would pass to his or her heirs. The heirs will control and have the right to enforce the copyright until it expires. After the 70 years expires, the work enters the public domain and may be used by anyone for any purpose. In this example, the work doesn't enter the public domain until 2134 AD. Note that the word "artist" and the word "author" are used interchangeably in this example. The word "author" is the proper legal term to describe the artist for copyright matters.

Old Copyright Laws and How they Effect Rights

Consider this...what if you want to copy (sample) other images to use within your own artwork, how do you determine if it covered by copyright protection?  The duration of copyrights has been changed by Congress several times over the last 200 years or so.  Earlier in the country's history the term was just a short period of a few decades, but now, it extends beyond the life of the artist.  In this historic context, the point when a work become part of the public domain depends upon when it was originally made.  Whether the work was published or not is important historically because copyright did not apply to unpublished works during some periods.

From 1923 to 1963 there was a manual renwal process in place, where the copyright owner had to renew the copyright to keep the protection. (Renewal had to be made during the 28th year after the work was originally published). If the owner processed the renewal, then the work may still be protected. If not, then the work would be in the public domain. Renewals were automatic from 1964 to 1977. Also, there have been some retroactive protection where copyright was restored in certain situations (especially in regards to foreign works) and extensions. If in doubt, and you want to use the material, you should try to investigate this with the owner of the copyrights to be certain.  However, this can be a difficult task in some situations--such as where the original artist/author has died, but the heirs to the copyright cannot be easily determined.  It is also complicated when a work is anonymous.  However, since the longest period now⁴ available for an independent artist is life plus 70 years, if the date of death of the artist(s) is known, and it has been 70 years since that date, then it can usually be assumed that the work is in the public domain.⁵  In practice, works published in the United States prior to 1923 are in the public domain.

For more information about determining expired copyrights, Findlaw has a useful chart of durations vs. dates of creation, and additional info about the warps in copyright protection, see http://smallbusiness.findlaw.com/copyright/copyright-using/public-domain-vs-fairuse.html (last visited 5/16/2008).

Circular 22, a publication of the Copyright Office, has detailed information about searching copyrights and the issues involved. View it at http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ22.html.

Renewals of copyright (from the 1923 to 1963 period) can be investigated via the U.S. Copyright Office database. However, if you want the Office to do the search for you, or a general copyright search, a rate of $150 per hour (fractions of) is charged. See http://www.copyright.gov/forms/search_estimate.html. This isn't required and you can always do your own search or try and contact the person(s) who may own the copyright at issue.

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¹ "Artist" in the context here assumes that this person was the independent, sole creator of the work. Different terms of duration may apply when the work is the product of work for hire or as a collaboration between two or more people or when it is produced by an organizational entity (e.g., corporation).

² See also, Infringement and Fair-Use, for exceptions.

³ See also, Authorship and Ownership, for more clarification.

⁴ May 16, 2008.

⁵ Don't confuse copyright with trademark. Trademarks do not expire and if you use one, e.g., Mickey Mouse as a trademark of the Disney Company, it may be infringement and that is bad news. See also, Fair-Use.















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