How Copyrights Become Public Domain

How Copyrights Become Public Domain

The copyright for the “Happy Birthday” song was placed into the public domain by a U.S. federal judge in September when he dismissed Warner/Chappell Music’s copyright claim, ruling that the company did not own the lyric rights but rather the copyright to a specific melody arrangement.

When a work is placed in public domain, it does not require a license or fee to be paid and its use is not restricted by copyright. Works fall into the public domain for three reasons:

• It is not able to be legally copyrighted.
• It has been given to the public domain by the author or creator.
• The copyrights expired.

In addition, copyrighted works may enter the public domain if they are published without a copyright notice or are not registered for copyright within five years of publication.

A copyright protects any original works of authorship and protects the expression of an idea rather than the idea itself. Works that can be copyrighted include:

• Literary works
• Musical works, including any accompanying words
• Dramatic works, including any accompanying music
• Pantomimes and choreographic works
• Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
• Motion pictures and other audiovisual works
• Sound recordings
• Architectural works

Works that cannot be copyrighted include works of the U.S. government, laws, ideas, facts, works whose copyright has expired, and works whose authors have placed into the public domain.

All works published in the U.S. before 1923 are in the public domain because of two celebrities: Mickey Mouse and Sonny Bono. The Copyright Act of 1909 originally said that all works were protected for 28 years. It gave the option to renew that protection for another 28 years. After those 56 years were over, works would enter the public domain.

However, because the first Mickey Mouse cartoon was published in 1928 and would have been placed in the public domain in 1984, Disney got Congress to extend copyright protection to a term of 75 years. In the 1990’s, Disney again lobbied Congress to pass a 20-year extension to protect works for a total of 95 years. This legislation — known as the Sonny Bono Act — was signed into law in 1998.

Under current law, the Mickey Mouse copyright would expire in 2018 unless Congress passes another extension.

Copyright protection for all works created after January 1, 1978, lasts for the lifetime of the author/creator, plus another 70 years. Copyright protection for unpublished works last for 70 years following the author’s death.

We can help you protect and defend your intellectual property rights at home and abroad. Contact one of the experienced Florida IP attorneys at Jurado & Farshchian, P.L., at (305) 921-0440, or email us at info@jflawfirm.com.

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