Image is a four panel comic strip titled “Public Domain Day – 2015”. First panel: Two people in an office setting exclaim: “Happy Public Domain Day!!!” and a caption states: “Many countries welcome new works into the public domain each year as copyrights expire on January 1st.” Second panel: One of the people from the first panel says: “This year’s collection of works entering the public domain in some countries** includes notable works like the famous painting “The Scream” by Edvard Munch.” Third panel: Shows a map of the United States with a caption that says: “However, due to the copyright extension included in the 1976 Copyright Act, no new works will enter the public domain in the USA until 2019. Fourth Panel: The other person from the first panel is shown in a posture and setting reminiscent of the painting “The Scream.”

It’s that time again! We celebrate Public Domain Day each year as many countries welcome new works into their public domain when the copyrights  for those works expire on January 1st.

Read our blog post on the public domain and its cultural importance, and visit these sites around the Web for more coverage of Public Domain Day 2015 and the works entering the public domain for various countries around the world:

 

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By Jessica Meindertsma, Rights Management Specialist at the Copyright Resources Center, The Ohio State University Libraries