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ABSOLUTELY FREE! MUSIC, TEXT AND ART!! COPY ALL YOU WANT!! If you saw an advertisement like this, you might wonder, "What's the catch?" When it comes to the public domain, there is no catch. If a book, song, movie or artwork is in the public domain, then it is not protected by intellectual property laws (such as copyright, trademark or patent law) --which means it's free for you to use without permission.
As a general rule, most works enter the public domain because of old age. This includes any work published in the United States before 1923. Another large block of works are in the public domain because they were published before 1964 and copyright was not renewed. (Renewal was a requirement for works published before 1978.) A smaller group of works fell into the public domain because they were published without copyright notice (copyright notice was necessary for works published in the United States before March 1, 1989). Some works are in the public domain because the owner has indicated a desire to give them to the public without copyright protection. The rules establishing the public domain status for each of these types of works are different and more details are provided throughout this chapter.
For a detailed analysis of public domain rules and issues, see The Copyright Handbook , by Stephen Fishman (Nolo).
- Welcome to the Public Domain
- Expired Copyright
- The Renewal Trapdoor
- Dedicated Works
- Copyright Does Not Protect Certain Works
- Public Domain Trouble Spots
- Multi-Layered Works
- Public Domain Works That are Modified
- Works Protected by Trademark Law
- Works Protected in Other Countries
- Compilations
- Works First Published Outside the U.S.
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