IMSLP:Copyright Made Simple

'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!

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to 70 years p.m.a. starting in 2023 for people who died in 1972 and later, so information found elsewhere may be out of date.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.

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

(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.

  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.

    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.

        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).