Statement from the US Copyright Office, January 2026

The following was shared by a GRW visitor in January 2026. It offers a fairly clear summary of copyright regulations as they stand at this time...

The short answer is that it is the burden of the user to determine whether the user needs to get authorization to make use of the work. Furthermore, the copyright owner has no obligation to make it easy or possible for a user to request authorization.

In cases in which it is difficult or impossible to either (1) determine whether there is a copyright owner and who that copyright owner is, or (2) to find contact information or get a reply to a request, then the proposed user bears the burden of making an educated determination of the risk of being found liable for infringement and whether to go ahead with the use. This is known as the "orphaned works" problem.

The Copyright Office cannot offer any legal opinion or advice in these situations. If you require guidance on these lines, then you might consider consulting a copyright lawyer to advise you.

For the long answer, see below.

Generally speaking, a work first published prior to 1930 would be in the public domain in the United States and therefore is no longer under copyright protection and can be freely used by anyone. An unpublished work would enter the public domain seventy years after the death of the original author.

A work in the public domain belongs to the public at large and may be freely used or copied by anyone. Such a work is no longer subject to copyright protection. Once copyright is lost, no one may again claim any exclusive rights to the work.

Note, however, that if someone uses a public domain work and then adds to it new original and creative expression, then that person might have rights in the new expressive content, for example, a new introduction or foreword, translation, narration, annotation, commentary, illustrations, cover art, annotations, musical arrangement, or sound recording.

(Note, there is no “sweat of the brow” protection; that is, something doesn’t become protectable under copyright law just because it took effort, time, or expense to compile.)

Similarly, if you adapt a public domain work, you will own the copyright interest in any appreciable new expressive content that you add to it. And that expression can be registered.

How does a work enter the public domain?

A work may become public domain in several ways. The following are examples of how works may become public domain in the United States.

  1. If the work was first published prior to January 1, 1930;
  2. If the work was published or registered prior to January 1, 1964, and the copyright was not renewed in its 28th year with the Copyright Office;
  3. If the work was published in the U.S. prior to 1978 and did not bear the statutory notice of copyright;
  4. If the renewal term of the copyright has expired;
  5. If the work is a work of the U.S. government; or
  6. If the work is unpublished, but the original author died more than seventy years ago.

For further information see our Circular 15A: Duration of Copyright.

Once a work enters the public domain, it can no longer be subject to a claim of copyright ownership.

Anything published in 1930 or after might be protected by copyright. In that case, permission from the copyright owner is needed before using their work. Only a small fraction of works protected by copyright law are registered with the Copyright Office.

How to research

If you need to investigate the registration status of a work, you may search for registration information using our Public Records Portal.

Pre-1978: For works registered prior to January 1, 1978, you may wish to search the status of these works by using the Office’s Catalog of Copyright Entries or the Virtual Card Catalog. Detailed information about using the Copyright Office’s online records is available in Circular 23.

Post-1978: For works registered on or after January 1, 1978, you may use the Copyright Public Records System.

In either case, we can offer those services for a fee. To request a search and for fee information, contact our Records, Research, and Certification Division by email at copysearch@copyright.gov, or complete the online form.

These services may assist you in researching the status of the works. However, we cannot give you any definitive conclusion. Ultimately, the status of a work may be determined only by a court of law.

Detailed information regarding researching the copyright status of a work is available in Circular 22.

Securing permission or authorization

Or, if the work is not within the public domain, permission to use copyrighted material must be secured directly from the owner of copyright or the owner's authorized agent. The Copyright Office is not permitted to act as agent for copyright owners in the licensing or other disposition of their rights and does not offer any forms pertaining to the use of copyrighted works.

Giving credit or citation to the original work is not a substitute for obtaining permission.

Our website has more information on obtaining permission to use a copyright protected work.

Generally, authorization for using any material protected by copyright should be secured directly from the owner of copyright or the owner's authorized agent, unless the use qualifies as "fair use.”

The Copyright Office has also posted a video that explains fair use.


Sincerely,
Kingsleigh Kipling

Senior Information Specialist
Public Information Office, LM401
U.S. Copyright Office | Library of Congress
101 Independence Ave SE, Washington, DC 20559-6001
Phone: 877-476-0778 (toll free) | Fax: 202-252-2041
Email: copyinfo@copyright.gov | Web: www.copyright.gov/