My understanding is that just about any work published before Jan 1 1923, is in the public domain...

Here's a handy reference guide spells it all out very clearly:

[copyright.cornell.edu...]

Syzygy

Great reference, Syzygy. Thanks.

thank you. I wasn't sure if articles have the same designation

My understanding is that just about any work published before Jan 1 1923, is in the public domain..

I know that anything Disney is not included in that, they have some good lawyers and their content may never enter the public domain.

Disney (the company) didn't exist before 1923, so that disney count ;-)

Syzygy

Disney was a major force behind the recent extension in the length of time that corporate works stay under copyright. It was 70 years, and it's now 90, and that protects early Disney works such as 'Steamboat Willie."

The change in term is why the current cut off is in 1923. We have to wait until 2013 for the clock to start moving forward again. Of course, Disney could get the law amended yet again.

But even Disney can't make something be under copyright once it has entered the public domain.

Steamboat Willie is already public domain in a handful of countries where the copyright extentions were not applied retrospectively...

Syzygy

Yes, sorry, I should have added "in the US."

And of course, there are many works published since 1923 that have already entered the public domain, under the copyright laws that applied at the time. Complicated--but, in the US, if it's pre-1923, it's definitely public domain.

Thanks for the clarification Syzygy and purple.

For some reason I thought Disney predated the 1923 barrier and was still not in the public domain.

I am going to go looking for some new creative material now that I know this.

Disney as a company may go back before 1923--but that doesn't matter. What matters is when each work was copyrighted.

Here's another (hopefully) useful resource to help you check the copyright status of any given work:

[copyright.gov...]

Syzygy