University of Rochester - Public Domain/Non-Copyrighted Material

University of Rochester

Public Domain and
Non-Copyrighted Material

Following are some works which may be used without restriction:

Published Works Which Were Never Copyrighted

Writings published without copyright notices prior to January 1, 1978 are not protected and may be used without restriction.

A notice of copyright consists of the copyright symbol or the word "copyright," plus the first year of publication and the name of the copyright owner. Publication is defined to mean the distribution of copies of a work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease or loan.

Notice requirements for works published between January 1, 1978, and February 28, 1989 were relaxed somewhat with respect to both the position of notices and the inadvertent omission of them. Effective March 1, 1989, the requirement that a work have a notice of copyright was abolished. Thus, any work created or published after March 1, 1989 is protected by copyright even if no notice of copyright is affixed.

Published Works Whose Copyrights Have Expired

Anyone may use, without restriction, published works on which the copyright term and any renewals thereto have expired.

Most works copyrighted before 1923 are now in the public domain. Copyrights dated between 1923 and the end of 1963 may or may not have expired, depending upon whether its owner renewed the copyright after the first term of protection. See the Duration of Copyright chart for more information. Thus, it is recommended that photocopiers either assume the protection is still in effect, or ask the copyright owner or US Copyright Office whether the work is still subject to copyright protection. Usually a publisher owns the copyright and knows the owner’s location. If not, an owner can be located through the US Copyright Office at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC, 20559.

US Government Publications

US government publications may be used without constraint, except to the extent that they contain copyrighted work from other sources. This classification consists of documents prepared by an officer or employee of the US government as part of that person’s official duties. It does not extend to documents published by others with the support of US government grants or contracts.

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