IMSLP:Copyright Made Simple

For a more detailed description of copyright and the public domain, see: Public domain. Questions may be directed to the forums.

'Public Domain' means a work is no longer protected by copyright and can be freely distributed.

Is This Piece Public Domain?

Simplified rules only — exceptions may apply!

Canada

Last surviving composer/arranger/editor/librettist:
Died before 1972: YES
Died after 1971: NO
Note that Canada extended copyright non-retroactively to 70 years p.m.a. starting in 2023 for people who died in 1972 and later, so information found elsewhere may be out of date.

For authors who died between 1950 to 1971, a piece first performed or published between 1974 and 1998 will generally be under copyright in Canada, unless it is in the public domain in the creator's home country.

United States

Anything by anyone:
Published before 1929: YES
Published after 1928: NO (usually; exceptions may apply)

European Union

(South Korea, Japan)

Last surviving composer/arranger/editor/librettist:
Died before 1954: YES
Died after 1953: NO

A piece first published or performed more than 70 years after a composer's death may be under copyright for 25 years from the date of first publication or performance.

IMSLP's main servers are located in Canada. An item may be uploaded to the main IMSLP servers if it is in the public domain in Canada — or if appropriate permission is given by the copyright holder(s), a topic which is not addressed on this page (see the licensing policy and guidelines).

Items which are in the public domain in the United States but not Canada may be uploaded to Petrucci Music Library US (PML-US). For information on how to make an upload to PML-US, please see PML-US upload instructions.

Copyright by Area

Canada

A work is in the public domain if the last surviving author/librettist/arranger died before 1972.
- Example: Any work by Paul Hindemith is in the public domain in Canada, since he died in 1963.
Certain works not performed or published during the authors' lifetimes may still be copyrighted, even if the composers died in 1971 or earlier. See Public domain for details.

United States

Any work first published before 1929 is in the public domain.
- Example: Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No.1 is public domain in the US, since it was published in 1912.
Any work first published from 1929 to 1977 may be subject to a 95-year term of copyright, depending on its renewal status and whether it is a US or foreign work. See Public domain for details.
Any work first published 1978 and later is subject to a term of life of the last surviving author plus 70 years, with special provisions for works created before 1978 and published from 1978 to 2002. See Public domain for details.

European Union (also South Korea, Japan)

A work is in the public domain if the last surviving author/librettist/arranger/etc. has been dead for over 70 years.
- Example: Any work by Maurice Ravel is public domain in the EU, since he died in 1937.
  - However, longer terms may apply in France and Spain.
Additionally, a work which is not performed or published during the life of the author(s) or within 70 years of the death of the last surviving author may be the exclusive property of its first publisher for 25 years from publication.

China (including Hong Kong), South Africa, New Zealand

A work is in the public domain if the last surviving author/librettist/arranger/etc. has been dead for over 50 years.
- Example: Any work by Sergey Prokofiev is in the public domain in these countries, since he died in 1953.

Urtext Editions

In Canada, editions where the editor(s) made no original contributions — such as urtext or scientific editions, where the original work is duplicated with an effort to replicate the author's intentions rather than introduce original work — likely generally receive no copyright protection due to not being original works. However,
In the EU, editions may receive to 30 years of copyright protection after publication (depending on the country). IMSLP voluntarily observes a 25-year rule as a courtesy to publishers.
In the US, while claims of copyright may be attached to new editions, and are valid for new materials added (such as prefaces, notes, etc.), a public domain work remains in the public domain, and the US Supreme Court has ruled that there must be a "modicum of creativity" in a work in order for there to be a copyright. Engravings themselves do not gain new copyright in the US as typographical works, so if only existing public domain content is included, an edition (with the new matter redacted) should be in the public domain in the United States (although a claim may be attached and no guarantee is made that any work in particular is in the public domain in the US).

Recordings

Sound recording copyrights exist on top of the copyright of the work recorded. In order for a recording to be added to IMSLP, both the composition and the recording must be in the public domain (or released under an acceptable license).

EU

Recordings published in 1962 or earlier are in the public domain in European Union countries.

Canada

Recordings published in 1964 or earlier are in the public domain in Canada.

USA

Recordings published in 1922 and earlier are in the public domain and have been since 2022.
Recordings published between 1923 and 1946 are protected for 100 years from publication, and will begin to enter the public domain beginning in 2024 and ending in 2047.
Recordings published between 1947 and 1956 are protected for 110 years from publication, and will enter the public domain from 2058 to 2067; no recordings will enter the public domain from 2048 to 2057.
All recordings fixed on or before February 14, 1972, and not published in 1956 or earlier, will enter the public domain on February 15, 2067.
All recordings fixed on or after February 15, 1972 have their terms of copyright calculated according to the principles for works in general (see the the previous sections).