Public domain works are not restricted by copyright and do not require a license or fee to use.
Public domain material has had:
- Copyright expire
- Copyright owner fail to follow renewal rules
- Copyright owner places the work in the Public Domain
The following categories of works are now in the public domain name:
- All works published in the U.S. before 1926
- All works published with a copyright notice from 1923 through 1963 without copyright renewal being filed
- All works published without a copyright notice from 1923 through 1977
- All works published without a copyright notice from 1978 through March 1, 1989, and not registered within 5 years of publication
