When does a copyright expire? Copyright laws over the years have changed enough that it can be challenging to determine exactly when a copyright expires. You’ll need a few basic pieces of information in order to calculate whether or not a copyright is still in effect.

Copyright expiration depends on when the work was copyrighted.
Copyright expiration dates depend largely on when the work was copyrighted. Copyright laws have changed a few times since their inception, so different rules apply to different works. You’ll need to know the date an item was copyrighted, or at least under which era the work was copyrighted in order to know which copyright laws to apply. Works enter the public domain after their copyrights expire, so you don’t have to worry about copyright infringement on expired works.

Copyrights before 1923.
Copyrighted works written and protected before 1923 are no longer under copyright protection and are considered public domain works.

Copyrights between 1923 and 1977.
Copyrights between 1923 and 1977 are dependent on one important fact: whether or not they were published with a copyright notice. Without a notice, these works are not eligible for copyright protection and are considered a part of the public domain.

With a notice, works published between 1923 and 1963 are protected as follows:

• Works that were copyright protected but not renewed are not under copyright protection and are considered a part of the public domain.
• Works that were copyright protected and which the copyright holder renewed are protected for 95 years from the date of publication.
• Works published from 1963 to 1977 with copyright protection notices are protected for 95 years from the date of publication.

Copyrights between 1977 and 1989.
Copyrights registered between 1977 and 1989 are protected for 70 years after an author’s death. Corporate works are protected for 95 years from the publication date or 120 years total. Corporate copyright expiration dates expire based on whichever date comes first.

Copyrights between 1989 and 2002.
Copyright expiration dates in this period are the same as copyrights between 1977 and 1989 with one exception: Copyrights do not need to be registered anymore. A copyright-eligible work is considered copyright protected from the moment of its creation. Works by an author are protected for 70 years after the author’s death, or 95 or 120 years in the case of corporate works. This copyright protection also extends to works created before this period, but published during this era.

Copyrights from 2002 to present.
Copyright protection from 2002 onward is the same as the previous era, except that works created before 1978 are no longer eligible for copyright protection even if published present-day. Otherwise, copyright protection lasts for 70 years after the death of the author, or 95 or 120 years for corporate works.