What is the Public Domain

What is the Public Domain?
Why does something fall into the public domain?

Case 1: The copyright has expired.

Copyright has expired for all works published in the United States before 1923. In other words, if the work was published in the U.S. before January 1, 1923, you are free to use it in the U.S. without permission.

Case 2: The copyright owner failed to follow copyright renewal rules.

Thousands of works published in the United States before 1964 fell into the public domain because the copyright was not renewed in time under the law in effect then. If a work was first published before 1964, the owner had to file a renewal with the Copyright Office during the 28th year after publication. No renewal meant a loss of copyright.

Case 3: The copyright owner deliberately places the work in the public domain.

Sometimes an author deliberately chooses not to protect a work and dedicates the work to the public. If, upon viewing a work, you see words such as, “This work is dedicated to the public domain,” then it is free for you to use.  This type of dedication is rare, and unless there is express authorization placing the work in the public domain, do not assume that the work is free to use.

Case 4: Copyright law does not protect certain works.

Short Phrases. Phrases such as, “Show me the money” or, “Beam me up” are not protected under copyright law. Short phrases, names, titles, or small groups of words are considered common idioms of the English language and are free for anyone to use.

Facts and Theories. For example, the fact that a comet will pass by the Earth in 2027—is not protected by copyright. If a scientist discovered this fact, anyone would be free to use it without asking for permission from the scientist.

U.S. Government Works. In the U.S., any work created by a federal government employee or officer is in the public domain, provided that the work was created in that person’s official capacity. Keep in mind that this rule applies only to works created by federal employees and not to works created by state or local government employees.

Above content is from The Public Domain by Rich Stim, Copyright & Fair Use, Standford University Libraries, CC BY-NC.