Copyright Laws -- updated for 2020
Copyright laws vary from country to country and each individual is responsible for obeying the laws of their country before downloading any books.
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MobileRead does not condone or support the use of this web site to break the law. This means that we will not allow posting of instructions showing someone how to break the law, requests for such instructions, nor uploads or links to items that have the sole purpose of breaking the law.
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MobileRead Posting Guidelines
MobileRead Policy on Copyright & DRM
What Is In the Public Domain
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What Is In the Public Domain -- updated for 2020
What is in the public domain? As you might expect, it's somewhat complicated. For an item posted on a web site, it is the location of the web site that is used to follow the Public Domain rules. The owner of this web site is a Swiss citizen and to limit his liability MobileRead now follows the Swiss rule of Pubic Domain which is defined as 70 years after the death of the author. This applies to all new submissions on MobileRead. The numbers below are based on 2020.
The world
In most of the world, it's pretty straightforward - things enter the public domain (PD) a certain number of years after the death of the author. In most countries that number is 70 years, in a few (e.g. Canada) it's 50. That means that, for example, all works of authors who died prior to 1949 are currently PD in Europe; prior to 1969 in Canada, and that advances on January first, year by year, as you would expect.
Australia's a bit different. It changed from lifetime+50 to lifetime+70 in 2005. All works by Authors who died before 1955 are out of copyright in Australia. Works by authors who died in 1955 won't be out of copyright until 2026, like in other lifetime+70 countries.
Germany has a different wrinkle. While they are a lifetime plus 70 country they make an exception if a publisher decides to commercially publish a PD book. They give the publisher a special one time 25 year copyright on the publication.
The U.S.A.
In the U.S., the rules are more complicated. Full details of the rules can be found, off site, at Cornell.
A general overview for works published in the U.S.: (Updated for 2019)- Anything published prior to 1924 is PD.
- Anything published from 1924 to 1978 without a copyright notice is PD.
- Anything published from 1978 to 2 March 1989 without a copyright notice or subsequent registration is PD.
- Anything published from 1924 to 1963 for which copyright was NOT renewed, is PD. This is about 80% of the books published. See article on finding the 80%.
- Anything published from 1924 to 1963 for which copyright WAS renewed, is in copyright until 95 years after publication (i.e. 2019 and later).
- Anything published from 1964 to 1977 is in copyright until 95 years after publication (i.e. 2060 and later) There is a PDF document that lists these books. Use the link below to find it.
- Anything published after 1977 is in copyright until 2048 or author's death + 70 years, whichever is longer, or for 95 years after publication for corporate works. To search for a particular book visit the United States Copyright Office's Web Voyage.
- Anything published after 2002 is in copyright until 70 years after the author's death, or for 95 years after publication for corporate works.
- One exception is U.S. government publications which are always in the Public Domain.
- Unpublished anonymous or corporate works, or works where the date of the author's death is unknown, are copyright for 120 years from date of creation.
- Unpublished books where the authors name is known will follow the death+70 years rule.
The net result of this is that some items are in the PD in the U.S., but not elsewhere (early works of authors who had long lives - e.g., Agatha Christie), and other things are PD outside the U.S. but not in the U.S. (e.g., works of authors published after 1924, who died before 1949/1969).
As the years go by, the balance is shifting - what is PD in the U.S. was a static set of works until 2019, whereas elsewhere new material is entering the PD every year.
The earliest that any new works entered the Public Domain in the U.S. was 1st January 2019, when works first published in 1923 enter the public domain. This date has been passed and new books will now enter the public domain each year similar to other countries but on a different schedule. However, The U.S. will not be in sync with the rest of the world, using death+70 rule, until 2048.
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Offsite References on Copyright