• It is an anonymous work or pseudonymous work and 50 years have passed since the date of its publication.
• It is a broadcast or sound recording and 50 years have passed since the year the programme was published.
• It is a cinematographic or photographic work and 50 years have passed since the date of its publication (or creation, whichever date is the latest).
• It is an artistic, literary or musical work created under the direction of the state or an international organization and 50 years have passed since the year the work was published.
• It is another kind of work, and 50 years have passed since the year of death of the author (or last-surviving author).

A South African work that is in the public domain in South Africa according to this rule is in the public domain in the U.S. only if it was in the public domain in South Africa in 1996, e.g. if it was published before 1946 and no copyright was registered in the U.S. (This is the effect of 17 USC 104A with its critical date of January 1, 1996.)