US Copyrights do Eventually Expire

Although the US Congress has extended the term of copyright several times (most notably with the 1976 Copyright Act and the 1998 Sonny Bono Act), US Copyrights do eventually expire: each year, dozens of classic songs, movies, and other cultural works reach the 95-year copyright maximum in the US, officially becoming part of the public domain.

Some of the songs that will hit the copyright limit this year include “Dream a Little Dream of Me,” written by Gus Kahn, Fabian Andre and Wilbur Schwandt, and “Georgia on My Mind,” written by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorre.

Fun fact: there was no federal copyright for sound recordings (in contrast to the composition) in the U.S. until February 15, 1972, before which protection relied on varying state laws. Pre-1972 recordings still lack full federal performance rights, though the Music Modernization Act (MMA) of 2018 began extending federal protection for these older recordings.