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While it's true that no strings are attached to using public domain materials, you should be aware of certain potholes on the public domain highway.
1. Multi-Layered Works
Works such as movies or sound recordings use and contain many underlying works such as musical soundtracks, painted illustrations or other works. There has been a disturbing trend by some copyright owners to assert protection in an element of a public domain work. For example, the film It's a Wonderful Life fell into the public domain because of a failure to renew copyright. For years, anyone was free to copy and sell the movie on videotape. However, a production company recently acquired rights to the musical sound track that is used in the movie. That soundtrack is not in the public domain. The copyright owner of the soundtrack can now prevent anyone from copying the music, thereby effectively stopping anyone from copying the film (unless the soundtrack is removed). This process can create confusion when making a determination of public domain status.
Usually you don't have to be concerned with this type of legal maneuver as it is only used in connection with a popular and older multi-layered works such as a film. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to apply this procedure to a public domain book or painting.
EXAMPLE: A movie musical containing songs by Cole Porter is in the public domain because of a failure to renew copyright. However, the Cole Porter songs were timely renewed so they are still protected by copyright and cannot be reproduced without permission. Therefore, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner of the Cole Porter songs in order to copy the public domain film. If you do not want to obtain permission from the owner, you must delete the songs from the film.
2. Public Domain Works That are Modified
Modifications to a public domain work may be protected by copyright and cannot be used without permission. A famous example used in many copyright classes is of the artist who paints an elaborate hat and mustache on the Mona Lisa. Even though anyone is free to copy the Mona Lisa image, the modified image (with mustache and hat) is protected under the artist 's copyright.
EXAMPLE: Color has been added to the blackand-white public domain film God's Little Acre. This colorization process is copyrightable. Therefore, the colorized version of God's Little Acre cannot be copied without permission.
3. Works Protected by Trademark Law
It is possible that a work may not be protected by copyright, but is still protected by trademark laws. In Chapter 10, we provide more trademark information.
EXAMPLE: The gold-colored top of the New York Life building is in the public domain and anyone can photograph it. However, that image also functions as a trademark for the New York Life Company, and a competing company could not use the image if it would be likely to confuse life insurance consumers.
4. Works Protected in Other Countries Before 1978, most countries had different periods of copyright protection than the United States. As a result, many works that are public domain in the United States are still protected by copyright in foreign countries and vice versa. Therefore, you may have to research public domain status in each country in which you plan to publish your work.
5. Compilations
Often an author creates a work by selecting various public domain components and grouping them together. If the selection, coordination and arrangement of the material is unique it will be protected as a copyrightable compilation.
EXAMPLE: The owners of the book Bartlett's Familiar Quotations selected and arranged famous quotes. Anyone may copy a few quotes from Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, but no one may copy the arrangement and selection of all the quotes.
6. Works First Published Outside the U.S. Some works first published outside the United States have been resurrected from the public domain. As a result of international treaties signed in the 1990s, public domain works that meet certain qualifications are now protected. (For a detailed discussion, see The Public Domain by Stephen Fishman (Nolo).)
You may be able to do some public domain detective work yourself or you can hire private companies or individuals who perform public domain searches and furnish public domain reports. | 
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