• 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 75 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 75 years: Mexico has 100 years, Jamaica has 95 years, and Colombia has 80 years. This image may not be in the public domain in these countries, which moreover do not implement the rule of the shorter term.