Why don&#39;t publishers release journal articles whose copyright have expired into Public Domain?
<p>Consider <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2226315" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this</a> journal article by John Maynard Keynes, a British economist who died in 1946 (the article in question was published in 1943). The journal (<a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1468-0297" rel="nofollow noreferrer">still published</a>) is based in the UK, and thus, it should be subject to UK copyright law.</p>

<p>According to <a href="https://www.gov.uk/copyright/how-long-copyright-lasts" rel="nofollow noreferrer">UK law</a>, the copyright of the work expires 70 years after the death of the author. For the case of Keynes, that is 2017. Similarly, the layout of the published edition has copyright for 25 years only. Thus, <strong>both copyrights have already expired</strong>.</p>

<p>However, the article (and many other articles in a similar situation, as the journal was created in 1891) are not freely available. They can only be accessed through JSTOR, as all links redirect to it (e.g. <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1468-0297/issues" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this</a> and <a href="http://www.res.org.uk/view/economicPastIssue.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this</a>). JSTOR does not allow free access (as in freedom of speech), albeit has a restricted form of free access (as in free beer), after registration, only for three articles and lasting 14 days.</p>

<p><strong>Why does the publisher do not release the material to the public domain if the copyright has already expired?</strong> Do they have any obligation to do so, or it is a matter of active individuals/organisations to "exercise" that right? As such, can I request to them to give me access for free? As far as I understand, as a British resident (?), I am myself "entitled" to make that work available in the public domain, without infringing the copyright of the author or publisher.</p>

<p>You misunderstand the nature of copyright.</p>

<p>Holding copyright allows you to decide how the work can be <em>copied</em>: there is no obligation on you to publish it if you don't want to. After your copyright expires you don't have to publish it either: the only thing that has changed is you can no longer prevent anyone making a copy.</p>

<p>The lost works of Aristotle are in the public domain - if you can find them you can make as many copes as you like.</p>

<p>Keynes' article may now be in the public domain. However, that does not mean that any reproduction of his works are freely available to anyone. JSTOR is providing a service, a database, and may thus charge anyone who wants to have access to it. Furthermore, a printed journal will not be free only because its content is in the public domain. So, you will have to find a medium that has reproduced Keynes' article. You then can copy it and reproduce it as you see fit. </p>

copyright public-domain