How To Register A Work As Public Domain

Artistic works that are in the public domain are available for anyone to utilize. Larn how works tin can become public domain and how yous tin contribute your own works.

If you create a work, you ain the copyright for it. Any piece of work you create in a stock-still mode, such every bit a book, vocal, movie, or reckoner software, is copyrighted past its creator from the moment information technology is produced. Non all creative works acquit a copyright though. Some are in the public domain, which ways no one owns them—and anyone can use them.

Open computer sitting on a desk with the words "public domain" on the screen

Works in the Public Domain

Copyright is not forever. U.Due south. copyright police protects a work for the life of the creator plus lxx years. During that fourth dimension flow, the work tin be used only if a license is granted or the piece of work is used in a way covered by the off-white use doctrine. One time the copyright expires, that work goes into the public domain, where it tin be used by anyone.

Other works are automatically in the public domain, such as any work created by the government, including any found on U.Southward. government websites (usually indicated by .gov in the domain proper name). Additionally, facts, mathematical formulas, and commonly used words and phrases cannot be copyrighted and so are in the public domain.

Creative Commons

A nonprofit group seeking to reform copyright law, Creative Commons advocates for more piece of work to be fabricated available for public, by and large noncommercial, utilize. The system'due south bulletin is not anti-copyright but instead that in that location should exist more flexibility when information technology comes to copyright and legal usage.

The Creative Commons website provides language for creators to grant complimentary licenses to anyone who wishes to use their piece of work to further knowledge and creativity. Licenses vary in how strict they are. Some require attribution, while others require attribution and licensing under the aforementioned terms as the original. Some exercise not permit commercial reuse, while others practice.

Placing Piece of work in the Public Domain

As the creator of a work, it is your choice whether you want to retain copyright or share your work with others past placing it in the public domain. If you lot do not plan to market place your work or apply it to generate income, or if you just savour the creative procedure and want to share your work with others, placing it in the public domain might be right for you.

To identify your work in the public domain, Artistic Commons suggests creators place a CC0 mark instead of a copyright mark (©) on their work. An alternative is to only state "this work is defended to the public domain" on your work.

Public Domain Software

Software licensing can be more complicated than other types of copyright licenses. Different types of software licenses allow different types of use.

Some software is open source, also chosen copyleft licensing, which ways it'southward completely in the public domain. Some software programs have permissive licenses with very minimal restrictions nigh the how the software tin can be used. The owners still retain some copyright, then the code is accessible for many types of uses simply is non fully in the public domain.

Determining If a Work Is Public Domain

There are many, many lists of public domain works you tin can find simply past using a search engine. If y'all are trying to decide if a specific work is in the public domain, y'all should first look at the work itself and bank check for a copyright symbol. Some other option is to find the creator and ask if it is bachelor for use. If y'all still don't know, yous tin can expect the work up on the U.S. Copyright Office database, although this only lists items for which copyright has been registered. (Remember, copyright exists from the moment of creation and the creator is not required to register information technology.)

In some situations, it tin exist difficult to tell if a work is copyrighted or in the public domain. The all-time do is to not use information technology if you can't exist sure. If you do use information technology and it turns out to exist copyrighted, you may accept committed copyright infringement and may be liable to the copyright possessor.