US Prepares for Public Domain Party in 2019

The Economist has a great article on the public domain and cites work by the Center for the Study of the Public Domain at Duke University. In 2019, the US will release published works of all kinds registered up until the end of 1923.

In 1978 and 1998 Congress extended, reshaped and expanded copyright durations and the scope of copyright for existing and future works (see Peter Hirtle’s authoritative website for the gory details)…. But for works published from 1923 to 1977 for which copyright was properly registered and renewed (as applicable in the period when originally registered or created), copyright was prolonged to a full 75 years from publication regardless of the author’s presence among the living….In 1998 this was extended to 95 years, partly thanks to lobbying efforts by Disney.

Tags: 1978, 2019, Copyright, Duke University, james boyle, mickey mouse, public domain, sony bono act, us, walt disney