• its author died before 1954;
• the death date of its author is not known, and it was created before 1904;
• it is an anonymous work, a pseudonymous work, or a work made for hire, and it was created before 1904.

The above provisions are contained in 17 U.S.C. § 303. See also this page for more information.

Dette verket er offentlig eiendom i Norge, EU og land der den opphavsrettslige vernetiden etter opphavsmannens død er 70 år eller kortere. Merk at noen land har lengre vernetid.

For å kunne lagres på Commons må verket både være offentlig eiendom i USA og i opphavslandet. Vernetiden kan i noen tilfeller være lengre enn 80 år i USA, så i tillegg til dette merket trengs det et eget merke som forklarer hvorfor verket er offentlig eiendom (public domain) i USA. Note that a few countries have copyright terms longer than 70 years: Mexico has 100 years, Jamaica has 95 years, Colombia has 80 years, and Guatemala and Samoa have 75 years. This image may not be in the public domain in these countries, which moreover do not implement the rule of the shorter term. Honduras has a general copyright term of 75 years, but it does implement the rule of the shorter term. Copyright may extend on works created by French who died for France in World War II (more information), Russians who served in the Eastern Front of World War II (known as the Great Patriotic War in Russia) and posthumously rehabilitated victims of Soviet repressions (more information).