Anonymous works, photographs, cinematographic works, sound recordings, government works, and works of corporate authorship or of international organizations enter the public domain 60 years after the date on which they were first published, counted from the beginning of the following calendar year (i.e. as of 2026, works published prior to 1 January 1966 are considered public domain).
Posthumous works (other than those above) enter the public domain after 60 years from publication date, counted from the beginning of the following calendar year.
Any kind of work other than the above enters the public domain 60 years after the author's death (or in the case of a multi-author work, the death of the last surviving author), counted from the beginning of the following calendar year.
Text of laws, judicial opinions, and other government reports are free from copyright.
The Indian Copyright Act, 1957 is not retroactive, so any work in which copyright did not subsist when it commenced did not have its copyright restored, and is in the public domain per the Copyright Act 1911.
You must also include a United States public domain tag to indicate why this work is in the public domain in the United States.
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 60 years. In particular, Mexico is 100 years, Jamaica is 95 years, Colombia is 80 years, Guatemala and Samoa are 75 years, and Switzerland and the United States are 70 years.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it meets three requirements:
it was first published outside the United States (and not published in the U.S. within 30 days),
it was first published before 1 March 1989 without copyright notice or before 1964 without copyright renewal or before the source country established copyright relations with the United States,
it was in the public domain in its home country on the URAA date (January 1, 1996 for most countries).
For background information, see the explanations on Non-U.S. copyrights. Note: This tag should not be used for sound recordings.
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This UK artistic or literary work, of which the author is unknown and cannot be ascertained by reasonable enquiry, is in the public domain because it is one of the following:
A photograph, which has never previously been made available to the public (e.g. by publication or display at an exhibition) and which was taken more than 70 years ago (before 1 January 1956); or
A photograph, which was made available to the public (e.g. by publication or display at an exhibition) more than 70 years ago (before 1 January 1956); or
An artistic work other than a photograph (e.g. a painting), or a literary work, which was made available to the public (e.g. by publication or display at an exhibition) more than 70 years ago (before 1 January 1956).
This tag can be used only when the author cannot be ascertained by reasonable enquiry. If you wish to rely on it, please specify in the image description the research you have carried out to find who the author was. The above is all subject to any overriding publication right which may exist. In practice, publication right will often override the first of the bullet points listed.
Unpublished anonymous paintings remain in copyright until at least 1 January 2040. This tag does not apply to engravings or musical works. More information
You must also include a United States public domain tag to indicate why this work is in the public domain in the United States.
