# Edgar Allen Poe

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edgar-allen-poe/85816>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [October 6, 2001, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edgar-allen-poe/85816 "2001-10-06T20:00:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![hikkchik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@hikkchik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hikkchik)\
**Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edgar-allen-poe/85816/1 "2001-10-06T20:00:44Z")

</div>

Can someone tell me if Edgar Allen Poe’s poems are copyrighted or are they part of the public domain?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\
**Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edgar-allen-poe/85816/2 "2001-10-06T20:11:10Z")

</div>

He’s been dead for over 75 years, so there’s a possibility that they’re public domain now. On the other hand, his estate may still have copyrights.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![pesch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pesch/32/4925_2.png) [@pesch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pesch)\
**Post date:** [October 6, 2001, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/edgar-allen-poe/85816/3 "2001-10-06T21:53:59Z")

</div>

A lot of Poe’s works are on Project Gutenberg, so one should safely assume that they’re in the public domain. That’s all they use.