• It is a broadcast program and twenty years have elapsed since the end of the year in which it was first aired.
• It is a photographic work, cinematographic work, performance, or software and fifty years have elapsed since the end of the year in which it was created.
• It is another type of work and fifty years have elapsed since the end of the year in which the author died.

For å kunne lagres på Commons må verket både være offentlig eiendom i USA og i opphavslandet. Vernetiden kan i noen tilfeller være lengre enn 80 år i USA, så i tillegg til dette merket trengs det et eget merke som forklarer hvorfor verket er offentlig eiendom (public domain) i USA. Note that this work might not be in the public domain in countries that do not apply the rule of the shorter term and have copyright terms longer than life of the author plus 50 years. In particular, Mexico is 100 years, Jamaica is 95 years, Colombia is 80 years, Guatemala and Samoa are 75 years, Switzerland and the United States are 70 years, and Venezuela is 60 years.