A work is in the public domain when no copyright or related right protects it any longer, so anyone may copy, perform, record, sample or adapt it without permission. Most works get there when their term of protection ends, though some creators dedicate their work early with tools such as CC0.
Timing varies by country and by type of right, which matters greatly for jazz. In the EU, including Italy, compositions generally become free 70 years after the death of the last surviving author, and recordings 70 years after publication. In the US, works published in 1930 entered the public domain on 1 January 2026, including songs such as “I Got Rhythm” and “Body and Soul”, which may remain protected in Europe; recordings follow a separate schedule, and those first published in 1925 became free in the US on the same day.
A free composition does not make every recording of it free, and the reverse is also true, so the two must be checked separately. For specific works and territories, a copyright professional can confirm the status.