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Work that is in the public domain includes any work for which the copyright has expired, and not been renewed, any work that was published prior to 1923, works produced by the United States Government, and other specific Governments, Work that is donated to the public domain, or any other work that has no laws that restrict its use by the public.
The work itself may be in the form of a book, an article, a song, a film, a photograph, a painting, or even an invention. These works that are not covered by copyright laws, or are no longer covered by copyright laws, are free for the public to use as they see fit.
This does not mean that if a work is freely obtained it is in the public domain. In other words, if you saw it on a website, for free, that doesn't mean that it is okay for you to use it. In fact, most things that are written down, in any form, are automatically copyrighted.
Public domain refers to work in which the copyright has run its course. According to the Copyright Office of the United States:
“The term of copyright for a particular work depends on several factors, including whether it has been published, and, if so, the date of first publication. As a general rule, for works created after January 1, 1978, copyright protection lasts for the life of the author plus an additional 70 years. For an anonymous work, a pseudonymous work, or a work made for hire, the copyright endures for a term of 95 years from the year of its first publication or a term of 120 years from the year of its creation, whichever expires first. For works first published prior to 1978, the term will vary depending on several factors.”
Public domain also refers to work that was meant for the public domain, such as work that is donated, as well as work that never had a copyright, which would be work that was created prior to 1923, or work that was not copyrightable material.
These materials are free for the public to use, in any manner that they choose. You can use bits and pieces of a public domain work, or the entire work itself. You can create new work from the bits and pieces, or sell an entire work – as you see fit.
As an entrepreneur, you can use public domain works to add to an existing product line, or to create one if you don't already have any products of your own. If you do not change the work in anyway, the author of the work remains the same. In other words, you can sell it, but you can't put your name on it.
If you edit the work, however, or include bits and pieces of public domain work to create a new product, your name goes on it, and you can copyright it. This is one of the absolute fastest ways, next to purchasing resell rights, to create a product of your very own. While purchasing resell rights to a product may be faster, works that are in the public domain and used to create new products may prove to be more valuable – meaning you can charge more.
Using public domain works not only saves the time that may be involved in product creation, but it will also save you money when it comes to product creation or development. The work has been done already. Furthermore, if you know where to look, there are millions of public domain works that can be obtained freely.
When it comes to information, there is one solid fact that will never change. Information is information. It rarely changes. It may become outdated, and no longer useful – but it doesn't usually change. Furthermore, outdated information can be ‘freshened up' easily enough, and information that is no longer useful may also be made useful once again.
Remember, also, that public domain works does not just pertain to written materials. Millions of Films, music, photos, and even inventions are in the public domain – just waiting for some enterprising individual to come along, dust them off, and make them useful once again!