• It is a photographic or cinematographic work and at least twenty five years have elapsed since the end of the year of its publication.
• It is another type of work and more than twenty five years have elapsed since the year of authors death and fifty years have elapsed since the year of publication.
• It was first published in Sudan before 18 December 1996

Article 198 of the Constitution of the South Sudan declares that "All laws of South Sudan shall remain in force [...] unless new action are taken [...]." As there is no new South Sudanese copyright law at this time, the Sudanese one is still in force there.

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.