When the Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act was enacted in 1998, it prevented many works from falling into the public domain from 1998-2018. Beginning in 2019, works published in 1923 fell into the public domain. Copyrights expire on Dec. 31 of the year they are scheduled to expire, so with each passing year works made for hire 95 years earlier fall in the public domain.

As of the start of 2022, works from 1926 have entered the public domain. In cases not involving works made for hire, the copyright expires 70 years after the death of the author.

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