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Because of historical changes in copyright law, and differences in copyright law from country to country, it is often difficult to determine exactly what is and is not under copyright, and where. In the US, prior to 1978, works were given 28 years of copyright protection, followed by the possibility of 28 more years (56 total), if application for renewal was made during the 28th year of the first term of protection. As of 1978 the renewal period for works still under copyright was extended to 47 years (75 total), and later an additional 20 years was added to this (making the renewal period 67 years, for a total of 95 years of protection). Beginning in 1964, copyright holders were no longer required to apply for renewal; copyright protection was automatically extended to 75 years, and later 95 years. (See US Copyright Office Circular 15a (in .pdf format) for further details on duration of copyright. The U.S. Copyright Office has a number of other informative circulars on various aspects of the law. Also, see the ARL Timeline: A History of Copyright in the U.S.)

The documents posted on this site that were originally published more recently than what seems to be implied by these provisions are in the public domain because the copyright holder chose not to renew copyright during the period that required one to do so. For instance, officials at the American Psychological Association have informed me that any article published prior to 1963 (save some 1962 issues of Psychological Monographs) in any journal owned by the APA are in the public domain. In addition, officials of the University of Illinois Press press have informed me that all articles published in the American Journal of Psychology prior to 1950 are in the public domain. The translations of the Gestalt papers found in Willis Ellis' Sourcebook of Gestalt Psychology are in the public domain as well.

I have tried to ensure that all of the documents posted on this site are in the public domain. Any party claiming copyright to any document posted to this site is asked to contact the Editor, Christopher D. Green, immediately. Neither York Univerisity, Arizona State University, Classics in the History of Psychology, nor Christopher D. Green take any responsibility for the copyright status of documents posted on other sites, even if the Classics in the History of Psychology website contains hyperlinks to them.

Christopher D. Green
20 February 1999
modified 18 September 1999
modified 10 November 1999
modified 15 January 2000
modified 19 September 2001
modified 16 October 2004

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