When Is 1923 Going to Arrive and Other Complications of the U.S. Public Domain

Abstract

There is something else Sonny Bono can be partly held responsible for besides bringing Cher into the pop culture stream: extending the time it takes most works to make it into the public domain. But as with anything involving domestic and foreign copyright, the issue of public domain far is more complicated than any one act or policy. This article describes some of the complications involved when trying to determine public domain status.