Copyright term (Copyright)

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The Copyright term of a musical work ends after the death of the performer, a fixed period since the first publication of the recording and/or after the death of the composer.

The headquarters of the Public Domain Project are located in Küsnacht (Switzerland), therefore all articles in our MediaWiki and/or phonogram documents (flac files) are based under the Swiss copyright law.

Europe

European Union

  • 70 years after the first publication[1]
  • After the death of the performer, but not before the expiration of the term of copyright
  • 70 years after the composer's death
  • The protection period begins from December 31st of that year, in which the event is set (e.g. death: 15 May 1941; public domain: 1 January 2012)[2][3]

Switzerland

  • 50 years after the first publication[4]
  • After the death of the performer, but not before the expiration of the term of copyright
  • 70 years after the composer's death[5]
  • The protection period begins from December 31st of that year, in which the event is set (e.g. death: 15 May 1941; public domain: 1 January 2012)


North America

United States

  • Corporate authorship: 120 years after creation and 95 years after the first publication date
  • Individuals: life of the author plus 70 years and 95 years after the first publication date
  • Note: Additional works made in 1923 or afterwards that were still protected by copyright in 1998 will not enter the public domain until 2019 or afterward.
  • See also: Copyright Term Extension Act


References

See also

External links