The works of public domain These are those whose exploitation rights have been extinguished and which, therefore, can be freely used by any person without having to ask for permission or pay the original holder.
The condition of the author of the work must be recognized, citing it correctly.
The integrity of the work must be respected and to prevent any deformation, modification, alteration or attempt against it that would be detrimental to its legitimate interests or undervalued to its reputation.
The exploitation rights of the work last, in general (original literary, artistic or scientific creations), up to 80 years after the death of the main and secondary author (translators, illustrators ...), if this occurred before the December 7 of 1987, or Up to 70 years in the case of deaths subsequent to this date [Chapter I and Fourth transitory provision of the Intellectual property law].
| Posthumous, pseudonymous or anonymous works |
The rights last for 80 or 70 years from their lawful disclosure (depending on whether this is before or after December 7, 1987). The term of protection begins to count from January 1 of the year following the one of the first lawful disclosure. If before the end of this term the author is known, the provisions of the previous point will be applicable. |
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| Works in collaboration |
Collaborative works are works that are the unitary result of the collaboration of several authors, such as, for example, a manual created by different co-authors. Without prejudice to what is agreed between co-authors, they may exploit their contributions separately, except if this harms the common exploitation. Intellectual property rights on a work in collaboration correspond to all co-authors in the proportion that they determine. The rights last for the lifetime of the co-authors and 80 or 70 years from the death or declaration of death of the last surviving co-author (depending on whether this occurs before or after December 7, 1987). |
| Collective works |
A collective work is considered to be one created on the initiative and under the coordination of a natural or legal person, who publishes and disseminates it under his or her name, and is constituted by the gathering of contributions from several authors whose personal contribution is merged into a single and autonomous creation (without it being possible to separately attribute to any of them a right over the entire work produced). For example, this would be the case of dictionaries, magazines or newspapers. Unless there is an agreement to the contrary, the rights to the collective work correspond to the person who publishes and disseminates it under their name. The rights last for 80 or 70 years from the lawful disclosure of the protected work (depending on whether this is before or after December 7, 1987). |
| Computer programs |
If the author is a natural person, the general rule of 80 / 70 years after his death is applied. On the other hand, if the author is a legal entity, 80 / 70 years must be counted from 1 January of the year following the first legal disclosure or creation thereof (if this has not been disclosed). |
| New editions of unpublished works in the public domain and unprotected works |
Rights last. 25 years computed from January 1 of the year following the release of new editions ofunpublished works in the public domain or 'works not protected, provided that these new editions can be individualized by their typographic composition, presentation and other editorial characteristics. |
The general term of protection of exploitation rights may vary with specific types of works, such as sound recordings, audiovisual productions or photographs:
| Type of work | Duration of operating rights |
|---|---|
| Musical compositions with lyrics | 70 years from the death of the last surviving author (author of the lyrics or author of the musical composition) (art. 28 LPI). |
| Recordings of artistic interpretations and musical executions publicly or legally communicated to the public, by means of a phonogram | 70 years after the date of the first publication or legal communication (art. 112 LPI) |
| Phonograms published or communicated publicly during the 50 years after their recording |
70 years after the first publication or legal communication to the public (art. 119 LPI). |
| Cinematographic and audiovisual productions |
The duration of the rights of producers of audiovisual recordings is 50 years from January 1 of the year following the production (art. 125 LPI). However, it is also necessary to make the corresponding calculation of the exploitation rights of the co-authors of the work (director, screenwriter, etc.). This calculation is 80 or 70 years since the death of the last surviving co-author, whichever is before or after December 7, 1987 (art. 28 LPI). |
| "Original Photographs" | 80 or 70 years since the author's death, depending on whether it was before or after December 7, 1987 |
| "Nice photos" | Photographs that are not "original" from an artistic point of view ("mere photographs") are only protected during 25 years from January 1 the following year to the creation of photography (art. 128 LPI). |
Intellectual property rights are territorial in nature, in other words, each country regulates them with its own laws and only guarantees their protection within its own borders. As established by199 article of the Intellectual Property Law (LPI):
| Applicable protection | Nationality of the authors |
|---|---|
| Spanish legislation |
Spanish and national authors from other EU member countries. |
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National authors of countries not members of the EU, with habitual residence in Spain. |
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National authors of countries not members of the EU, who do not have their habitual residence in Spain. This protection only covers works published for the first time in Spanish territory or during the 30 days after they have been published in another country. The Government, however, may restrict this principle in the case of national foreigners of states that do not sufficiently protect the works of Spanish authors in analogous cases. |
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Protection collected at international agreements and treaties in which Spain is a part |
National authors from third countries. In the absence of agreements and treaties, the authors will be equated with Spanish authors when they are also nationals in the respective country. |
| Protection granted to the country of origin of the work, without, in any case, being able to exceed the period provided for in the LPI |
Works whose country of origin they agree with Berne Convention a third country and whose author is not a national of a member state of the EU. |
There are several interfaces with which to calculate what works become public domain according to the corresponding legislation:
| REBIUN | Table of copyright duration which facilitates the calculation of the date of term of these rights according to Spanish legislation, as well as the aspects to be taken into account according to the type of document that you want to use. |
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| National Library of Spain | List of Spanish authors who have works in their background that are already in the public domain. |
| Europeana | Public domain calculator, an interface that covers the various European legislations (including Spanish) |
In relation to the digitization of public domain works, it should be borne in mind that:
There are several reservoirs and search engines that offer, partially or totally, the digital reproduction of works of public domain:
In order to recover public domain works in each repository or website, you must apply the limits of each interface.
In order to facilitate this recovery, Creative Commons, with the support ofEuropeana, promotes marking them as detailed on its website "Public Domain Mark".
