http://www.copylaw.com/new_articles/PublicDomain.html is the source for the following:
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Many people are surprised to learn that there is a moratorium on new works entering the public domain. During the Clinton administration, the controversial Sony Bono Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA) was signed into law. Under the Act – which added 20 years to most copyright terms – no new works will enter the public domain until 2019. Enacted to ensure adequate protection for U.S. works abroad, the CTEA restricts access to works published after 1922. In 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Eldred v. Ashcroft, rejected a popular challenge to the CTEA. While the CTEA has substantially lengthened the commercial life of many works, the public domain remains a rich source of quality, inexpensive content for anyone dealing in creative works.
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Works created before January 1, 1978, were until recently protected for a total of 75 years, provided, certain copyright renewal formalities were followed. The CTEA amended the Copyright Act by extending the term of protection for works currently in their renewal term from 75 years to 95 years. Under the new law, any work published in 1923 (which would have otherwise fallen into the public domain on January 1, 1999), will now be protected until January 1, 2019.
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