A Chasm: US versus the rest of the world

[Noyonhasan630]

Because of our nutty U.S. system – for works first published before 1978, the term is 95 years from publication, many foreign works will be in the public domain for many years in the United States before they are out of copyright in their home country. Take, David Jones’ “The Garden Enclosed” (1924).


Currently the photograph of David Jones’ painting found on the Tate website has the following copyright information: © the estate of David Jones/Bridgeman Images. You have to license the use. But as of January 1, 2020, the work is in the public domain in the U.S., and so you do not have to get permission to use the painting or an image of the painting. It will remain under copyright in Great Britain through 2044.

But the joy of the public domain in the U.S. is more than the great europe cell phone number list works; it is also the ephemera – the photographs in newspapers, postcards, films and so much more that have been locked up because they were restored as foreign works. All of these works are now coming into the public domain, and it is glorious. As of January 1, 2020, any work published anywhere in the world before 1925 is in the public domain in the United States.

One of the best features of the Internet Archive is that you can add a filter to any search of the publication year. So, as you search, check “1924”. It doesn’t matter whether the works were published here or in the US, whether they were renewed or had proper notice. They are now in the public domain in the U.S. for all to enjoy unfettered and without restriction.