Appearance
To determine whether a work is public domain, find the author's death year, add the relevant term (life + 70 years in the UK and EU), and confirm the result against the special rules for publication, anonymity and Crown copyright. If the calculated expiry date has passed in your target territory, the work is public domain there. The crucial discipline is to run the check per territory and to record the evidence behind every date you use.
What is the core calculation?
The default term across the UK and EU is life of the author plus 70 years, measured to the end of the calendar year of death. So a work by an author who died in 1953 enters the UK/EU public domain on 1 January 2024. In the US the system is different and date-bucketed: as of 2025, works published before 1930 are public domain, and works published 1930-1977 follow a 95-year-from-publication rule with renewal complications.
text
UK / EU: PD_year = death_year + 70 + 1 (Jan 1 of that year)
US (pub.): works published before 1930 are PD (advances one year each Jan 1)How do I run the check per territory?
Never produce a single yes/no. Produce a small matrix, because status is territorial and the US does not apply the rule of the shorter term.
| Territory | Rule | Example: author died 1955 |
|---|---|---|
| UK | Life + 70 | PD from 2026 |
| EU (most) | Life + 70 | PD from 2026 |
| US (work published 1928) | Pre-1930 published | PD now |
| US (work first published 1960) | 95 yrs from publication | In copyright until 2056 |
The takeaway: a single physical object can simultaneously be free in one country and protected in another. State your scope explicitly: "Public domain in the UK as of 2025."
What special cases trip people up?
Several categories break the simple life + 70 rule:
- Anonymous / pseudonymous works — UK term is 70 years from first publication.
- Crown copyright — 50 years from publication for published material; relevant to government records and OS maps.
- Sound recordings and performances — distinct, longer-evolving terms (UK now 70 years from publication for recordings).
- The UK 2039 rule — some pre-1989 unpublished works stay protected until end of 2039.
- Photographs — pre-1957 UK photographs have their own historical term rules.
How should I document the determination?
A bare conclusion is worthless without provenance. Capture the inputs and the source for each:
yaml
object_id: "MS-2291"
territory_scope: ["UK", "US"]
author: "Hélène Marchand"
death_year: 1951
source_death: "VIAF 12345; ODNB entry"
term_rule: "life+70"
pd_uk: true # PD from 2022
pd_us: false # first published 1962, in copyright to 2058
determined_by: "E. Reed"
determined_on: 2025-01-20This turns a judgement call into something auditable and reusable by colleagues.
What if the author's death date is unknown?
Make a genuine, recorded effort to find it — VIAF, ODNB, Library of Congress authorities, parish and probate records — before falling back to the anonymous-work rule or to a "Copyright Undetermined" statement. If a diligent search fails, the item is better treated as an orphan work than confidently declared free.
Key Takeaways
- The default UK/EU term is life + 70 years, measured to year-end.
- Public-domain status is territorial — produce a per-country matrix, not a single verdict.
- The US uses publication-date buckets and does not apply the rule of the shorter term.
- Watch Crown copyright (50 years), the 2039 rule, and special photograph/sound terms.
- For unknown authors, document a diligent search before applying the anonymous-work rule.
- Treat third-party "public domain" labels as leads to verify, not proof.
- Always record the evidence behind every date so the decision is auditable.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fastest way to estimate public-domain status?
Find the author's death year and add the term — life + 70 in the UK and EU. If that date has passed, the work is very likely public domain in those territories, subject to checking publication and special-rule exceptions.
Is a work public domain everywhere at once?
No. Public-domain status is territorial. A work can be free in the US under the 95-year published-pre-1929 rule yet still in copyright in the UK under life + 70, or vice versa. Always state which territory your determination covers.
What is the US 'rule of the shorter term'?
The US generally does NOT apply the rule of the shorter term, so a foreign work can be in the US public domain even if still protected at home, and vice versa. This is why dual UK/US checks are essential for online publication.
How do I handle a work with an unknown author?
For anonymous or pseudonymous works the UK term is 70 years from the year of first publication (or creation if never published). Document the diligent search you made to identify the author before relying on this rule.
Does Crown copyright change the calculation?
Yes. UK Crown copyright in published works lasts 50 years from publication, not life + 70. Many government documents and Ordnance Survey maps fall out of copyright on a different schedule.
Can I trust a 'public domain' label on Wikimedia or an archive?
Treat it as a useful lead, not proof. Verify the underlying dates yourself and record your evidence, because labels are often US-centric and may not hold in your target territory.