Category Archives: copyright

Public Domain Day countdown on public social media networks

Posted on November 2, 2022 by John Mark Ockerbloom

I’m starting my countdown today to Public Domain Day, when a year’s worth of copyrights in many countries expires on January 1. In the US, we’ll be getting works that were copyrighted in 1927, and whose copyrights were consistently maintained … Continue reading →

Posted in publicdomain, sharing | 3 Comments

Coming soon to the public domain in 2022

Posted on December 1, 2021 by John Mark Ockerbloom

One of the blessings of what’s been a rough couple of years is that Public Domain Day is now a routine cause for celebration in the United States. For 20 years up to 2019, very little entered the public domain … Continue reading →

Posted in adventcalendar, copyright, open access, publicdomain | 1 Comment

Public Domain Day 2021: Honoring a lost generation

Posted on January 1, 2021 by John Mark Ockerbloom

It’s Public Domain Day again. In much of Europe, and other countries with “life+70 years” copyright terms, works by authors who died in 1950, such as George Orwell, Karin Michaelis, George Bernard Shaw, and Edna St. Vincent Millay, have joined … Continue reading →

Posted in online books, open access, publicdomain | 3 Comments

Counting down to 1925 in the public domain

Posted on December 15, 2020 by John Mark Ockerbloom

We’re rapidly approaching another Public Domain Day, the day at the start of the year when a year’s worth of creative work joins the public domain. This will be the third year in a row that the US will have … Continue reading →

Posted in copyright, publicdomain | 3 Comments

Everybody’s Library Questions: Finding films in the public domain

Posted on March 30, 2020 by John Mark Ockerbloom

Welcome to another installment of Everybody’s Library Questions, where I give answers to questions people ask me (in comments or email) that seem to be useful for general consumption. Before I start, though, I want to put in a plug … Continue reading →

Posted in copyright, publicdomain, Questions | Comments Off on Everybody’s Library Questions: Finding films in the public domain

Build a better registry: My intended comments to the Library of Congress on the next Register of Copyrights

Posted on March 19, 2020 by John Mark Ockerbloom

The Library of Congress is seeking public input on abilities and priorities desired for the next Register of Copyrights, who heads the Copyright Office, a department within the Library of Congress.  The deadline for comments as I write this is … Continue reading →

Posted in copyright, data, metadata, open access, serials | Comments Off on Build a better registry: My intended comments to the Library of Congress on the next Register of Copyrights

Public Domain Day 2020: Coming Around Again

Posted on January 1, 2020 by John Mark Ockerbloom

I’m very happy for 2020 to be arriving.  As the start of the 2020s, it represents a new decade in which we can have a fresh start, and hope to make better decisions and have better outcomes than some of … Continue reading →

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2020 vision #5: Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin

Posted on December 31, 2019 by John Mark Ockerbloom

It’s only a few hours from the new year where I write this, but before I ring in the new year, and a new year’s worth of public domain material, I’d like to put in a request for what music … Continue reading →

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2020 vision #4: Ding Dong Merrily on High by George Ratcliffe Woodward and others

Posted on December 19, 2019 by John Mark Ockerbloom

It’s beginning to sound a lot like Christmas everywhere I go.  The library where I work had its holiday party earlier this week, where I joined librarian colleagues singing Christmas, Hanukkah, and winter-themed songs in a pick-up chorus.  Radio stations … Continue reading →

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2020 vision #3: The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell

Posted on December 13, 2019 by John Mark Ockerbloom

“Be a realist. The world is made up of two classes–the hunters and the huntees. Luckily, you and I are hunters.” Sanger Rainsford speaks these words at the start of “The Most Dangerous Game”, one of the most famous short … Continue reading →

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