Public Domain Report

 What’s in the Public Domain

 Core Public Domain Concepts

 The term “public domain” refers to situations in which a creative work (like a book or article, for instance) is no longer afforded legal copyright protection.

 When a work is in the public domain, it truly belongs to “the public”.  Any individual can use the work in any way he or she sees fit.  One can edit the work, sell it, or even claim it as their own.  There are absolutely no copyright-related restrictions on works found in the public domain.

 Intellectual property is protected by copyright laws in order to give creators an economic incentive.  There wouldn’t be as much authorship if every new book was instantly ripped off y everyone else!  By protecting the rights to a work, we encourage the production of more materials. 

 However, copyright was never really intended to be an infinite protection of every idea that showed up in print.  The idea that copyrights can and should expire has been with us for centuries.  At some point, the financial interest of individual ownership to rights is trumped by the value of free and unfettered access to the material.  The point at which the value of those competing interests ostensibly