• A work with a known author for which the author died more than 50 years ago.
• A work of joint authorship for which the longest-lived of the joint authors died more than 50 years ago.
• An anonymous work that was first published more than 50 years ago, or an anonymous work that was not published and which was created more than 50 years ago.
• A collective work or a computer program that was first published more than 50 years ago.
• A collective work or a computer program that was not published and which was created more than 50 years ago.
• A photograph that was first published or publicly displayed more than 50 years ago.
• A photograph that was not published or publicly displayed and which was created more than 50 years ago.
• An audiovisual work that was first published or presented more than 70 years ago.
• An audiovisual work that was not published or presented and which was created more than 70 years ago.
• A phonogram (sound recording) that was created more than 50 years ago.

Important note: Works of foreign (non-U.S.) origin must be out of copyright or freely licensed in both their home country and the United States in order to be accepted on Commons. Works of Dominican origin that have entered the public domain in the U.S. due to certain circumstances (such as publication in noncompliance with U.S. copyright formalities) and which were under copyright in the Dominican Republic on January 1, 1996 may have had their U.S. copyright restored under the URAA.[1]

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 this work might not be in the public domain in countries that do not apply the rule of the shorter term and have copyright terms longer than life of the author plus 50 years. In particular, Mexico is 100 years, Jamaica is 95 years, Colombia is 80 years, Guatemala and Samoa are 75 years, Switzerland and the United States are 70 years, and Venezuela is 60 years.