public-service · circular 15a public-domain cutoff
Circular 15A's Two Different Public-Domain Cutoff Dates
The U.S. Copyright Office's English and Spanish editions of Circular 15A state two different public-domain cutoff dates for U.S.-published works.
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What matters now
- The English-language Circular 15A states a public-domain cutoff of January 1, 1931, for U.S.-published works.
- The Spanish-language Circular 15A states a public-domain cutoff of January 1, 1925, for U.S.-published works.
- The two editions carry different revision footers, and the Spanish footer names a corresponding English-language revision.
- Both documents are published on copyright.gov and are publicly accessible for direct comparison.
The U.S. Copyright Office publishes Circular 15A, “Duration of Copyright,” in both English and Spanish, and the two published editions currently state different cutoff dates for when a U.S.-published work enters the public domain. The English edition states the cutoff as January 1, 1931. The Spanish edition, whose own footer names a corresponding English-language revision, states the cutoff as January 1, 1925. This article reports both statements as quoted below, directly from the Copyright Office’s own pages; it does not resolve why the two figures differ.
This original record-reading guide is a general reading aid, not cited evidence. It does not depict a source record; the article text and source links provide the facts.
Key points
- The English-language Circular 15A states a public-domain cutoff of January 1, 1931, for U.S.-published works.
- The Spanish-language Circular 15A states a public-domain cutoff of January 1, 1925, for U.S.-published works.
- The two editions carry different revision footers, and the Spanish footer names a corresponding English-language revision.
- Both documents are published on copyright.gov and are publicly accessible for direct comparison.
What the English edition states
The English-language Circular 15A gives a specific public-domain cutoff date for U.S.-published works:
“Applying these standards, all works published in the United States before January 1, 1931, are in the public domain.” — U.S. Copyright Office Circular 15A (English)
The footer of this English edition records its own revision history:
“CIRCULAR 15A REVIEWED: 08/2011 REVISED: 04/2026” — U.S. Copyright Office Circular 15A (English)
What the Spanish edition states
The Spanish-language edition of Circular 15A, published at a separate URL on the same copyright.gov domain, states a different cutoff date for the same category of works:
“Aplicando estos estándares, todas las obras publicadas en Estados Unidos antes del 1 de enero de 1925 son de dominio público.” — U.S. Copyright Office Circular 15A (Spanish)
In English, this sentence states that works published in the United States before January 1, 1925 are in the public domain.
The Spanish edition’s own footer names a corresponding English-language revision:
“CIRCULAR 15A DURACIÓN DEL DERECHO DE AUTOR CIRCULAR 15A (INGLÉS), REVISADA EL 1/2025” — U.S. Copyright Office Circular 15A (Spanish)
Comparing the two footers
The English PDF’s footer marks it as reviewed in August 2011 and revised in April 2026. The Spanish PDF’s footer names a corresponding English-language revision of Circular 15A, revised in January 2025 (“REVISADA EL 1/2025”). The two footers therefore point to two different points in the English document’s revision history, and the two documents state two different cutoff dates. This comparison reflects exactly what is printed on the Copyright Office’s own published pages.
The Copyright Office’s published pages do not state why the English and Spanish editions give different cutoff dates, and this comparison does not supply that explanation. Neither page states whether January 1, 1931 or January 1, 1925 is arithmetically derived from the copyright-duration rules described elsewhere in either circular. The two pages’ text beyond the quoted cutoff sentence and footer is not compared here, and neither page addresses the public-domain status of a particular work or makes any determination about protectability, infringement, or fair use.