Like all other creative projects, television programs are not offered copyright protection that lasts forever. As in the case of films and music, once the copyright expires on a television program and is not renewed, it enters the public domain and can be shared, reproduced and studied by all.

While there are many complexities of television and broadcasting copyright law, the basic law, post the 1976 Copyright Law amendment that changed recorded and broadcast creative works allows the owner of a copyright to control how it is copied, transmitted or communicated to the public. Of course, as broadcasting becomes more international, the laws continue to change and grow to be more uniform and less dependent upon the country of origin. Currently, television programs are copyrighted based on the specific copyright laws in the country where they are created, but as cable television and satellite capabilities grow, so does the need for more specific laws. Add to that the different copyright laws for the production music involved, and the determining copyright details and also a known catalogue of public domain television programs can be tricky.

The nature of television history contributes to the difficulty of acquiring and determining public domain television programs. Many of the impediments are technological. Since early television was transmitted live, without kinescope recordings of images from the broadcast (which were frequently unavailable), there was no record of many early programs. Similarly, the prevalence of cable channels and television stations nationally and internationally creates a convoluted environment for those looking to create a complete registry of public domain television or simply keep track of various copyrights and their expiration.

Other difficulties in collecting public domain television programs have to do with the complexities of Copyright Law and the bewilderment of early television producers and directors over what was then a brand new technology and medium for expression. Many professionals in the industry did not copyright programs because the costs of registering an entire television series was very expensive, and also many did not see television as a long-term or lasting technology. Those that did get copyright protection had a difficulty with the language of Copyright Law, which did not yet provide specific, clear protection for films and television programs that were broadcast again and again, and therefore neither "fixed" nor "published" until much later. Legal advisors during the early years of television typically registered the "publication" date of a television broadcast as the first syndication of the series. Talk shows, sporting events, news programs, television films, and variety and game shows typically were one-time occurrences, so they were easier to protect, and then later to organize within the Library of Congress and with the United States Copyright Office. The first official entry into the Library of Congress archives was a full-length television film entitled "Hopalong Cassidy." This library eventually expanded to include both public domain television and copyrighted television, but not until much later.

Because the Library of Congress was initially the only place where records of television programs were collected, and the collection was based only on those producers that decided to pay to register, the collection was unevenly compiled. Also, most copyrighted television programs were still not guaranteed complete protection, and due to the fluctuating nature of copyright law before the 1970's, many later became part of public domain television. Television commercials were some of the first to be acknowledged in the world of public domain television. The Library did not become more consistent until the 1976 Copyright Act, when television programs became available for sale, anti-piracy efforts were begun and copyright registrations specifically designed for television programs were made available.

Today television copyrights are more diligently maintained by producers than previously, as television has become a firmly fixed cultural phenomenon in the world. It is the only medium that interactively involves people across societies in important news stories and pieces of art and entertainment, and clearly has transformed into a lasting and viable part of the culture. The popularity of purchasing entire television series on DVD and video tape has further established television programs as valid works.

Collections of public domain television programs exist in both the Library of Congress and in some privately compiled collections, with older public domain television programs typically divided by the networks on which they aired. The Library still maintains the most comprehensive collection of copyrighted and public domain television programs in the world.

An Introduction to Copyright Laws for the United States Confirming and Documenting Public Domain Status Creative Commons Licenses Royalty Free Music and the Public Domain Composers Radio Film Television Fair Use Basic Rules of Fair Use The Considerations of Fair Use The Definition of Fair Use

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