There is considerable disagreement as to whether Desiderata is still copyrighted material or public domain. The Copyright Act requires a copyright notice on materials that one seeks to have protected (17 U.S.C. Section 10). Forfeiture occurs when the copyright holder authorizes general publication without the correct notice. In other words, no attribution (acknowledgement) of the copyright ownership. For example, if I allow a student or colleague to use my copyrighted photo image in their publication, it must include in the caption the proper attribution: © Wayne P. Armstrong (waynesword.palomar.edu).

In 1942, Ehrmann corresponded with Merrill Moore, a U.S. Army psychiatrist serving during World War II. Moore told Ehrmann that he had distributed an estimated 1,000 copies of Desiderata over the years while he was in civilian practice in Boston. Letters attest to the fact that Ehrmann gave permission for Moore to distribute copies of the poem to soldiers as part of their treatment. As late as 1944, Moore confirmed to Ehrmann that he continued to use the poem in his work in the South Pacific. Apparently, the correspondence between Moore and Ehrmann was credible evidence of a general publication authorized by the copyright holder. Permission to use the work was given gratuitously, and nowhere was a copyright or copyright notice mentioned. Ehrmann had therefore forfeited his right to have the copyright protected.