What is public domain...and why should you care?
The
phrase “public domain” naturally conjures an image of an area
open to the public. It’s logical to guess this phrase refers to
community parks, playgrounds, unprotected natural land (if there’s
any of that left), and structures like malls or downtown squares. Any
place a bunch of folks can get together without danger of trespassing
or loitering accusations might be a “public domain.”
However,
this phrase also refers to a specific body of intellectual property.
Books, music, movies, images and photographs whose copyrights—the
little law that makes Bill Gates grin every time somebody says
“Microsoft”—have expired, or which were never copyrighted in
the first place (at least before 1989) are officially considered
“public domain.” They belong to the public, and any person may
use their contents in any way they choose.
Why
should you care? Because knowledge of public domain works, blended
with a little business savvy and entrepreneurial spirit, can make you
money...whether you’re just looking for some spare cash, or the
fortune you’ve always dreamed about.
You
are about to discover the secrets to cashing in on the public domain.
You’ll find out what defines this vast pool of resource material
that’s free and clear for your use; how to locate and verify public
domain works; which books, movies, music or images are the most
likely to earn a profit; and how to get started making money in this
exciting and largely untapped field.
NOTE:
The majority of e-books on public domain profits provide
exciting-sounding information on how to make money without
actually explaining anything,
and then try to convince you to buy more products or services from
them, or have you resell their books to others so they can profit
from your marketing efforts.
That’s
not what we’re going to do here.
Here
you will find everything you need to know to get started making real
money in the public domain, from finding copyright-free works to
preparing them for sale, from creating a web site to marketing your
products online. You’ll also get lots of links to essential web
resources, articles, databases and
free tools to help you succeed. Some of the products and services
discussed have a small price tag attached—but if you choose to use
them, you are buying convenience, not withheld information.
You
don’t have to spend another dime of your own money to profit from
the public domain!
With
a little effort and patience, you can start making money with no
investment whatsoever. And most of the work is done for you: this
book contains direct links to absolutely free resources for every
step of the process.
And
now…it’s time to enter the public domain!
Requirements for public domain works
Each
country has its own set of guidelines to determine whether a work’s
copyright has expired or is not valid. Here we’re concerned with
copyright law in the United States. There are three general rules you
can use to evaluate works and decide whether they might be in the
public domain.
The
first rule is fairly straightforward: If
the work was published in the United States any time prior to 1923,
it is now considered public domain.
There
are no exceptions to this rule. Anything published, created or
produced before 1923 is in the public domain. You may think nothing
published that long ago is of interest to modern consumers, but there
is plenty of “outdated” material still relevant and entertaining
today. With a little digging, you can uncover some real gems.The
third rule is also cut-and-dried:
All
works, published or unpublished, created after March 1, 1989, are
copyright protected for 70 years from the date the author dies. All
works made for hire (corporate authorship) after March 1, 1989, are
copyright protected for the shorter of 95 years from publication, or
120 years from creation.
These
days, filing for copyright protection is no longer necessary. All
creative work is automatically covered under copyright law, as of
March 1, 1989. “Works made for hire” refers to corporate
publications such as newsletters, employee manuals and annual
reports, or any situation in which
a creative professional was paid to produce a work for another party.
What,
you may ask, happened to the second rule? Well, this one is a bit
more complicated. Between 1923 and March 1, 1989, there are several
factors to consider when determining whether a work is considered
public domain.
If
the work was published in the United States between 1923 and March 1,
1989, current copyright protection depends on whether certain
formalities were observed such as notice of copyright, registration,
and/or renewal.
Huh?
In
order to understand this rule, you must know about the various
changes to copyright law that occurred in this period. Following is a
general description of which works are considered public domain—but
keep in mind there are some exceptions.
1.
Any work published in the United States without a valid copyright
notice between 1923 and 1978 is now in the public domain.Prior
to the law granting copyright protection to all creative works,
published or unpublished, a tangible copyright notice must appear
within the work. Otherwise it is public domain. However, published
works during this period with a copyright notice are protected for up
to 75 years. The words “up
to” are important, because not all of the work falling within this
time frame has a 75-year copyright. Which brings us to the second
clarification to this rule...
2.
Any work published in the United States between 1923 and 1963 with a
copyright notice that was not renewed is now in the public domain.
The
Copyright Act of 1909, which remained in effect through January 1,
1978, stated that any work with a copyright notice was protected for
two consecutive terms of 28 years each. However, the second term of
protection was only granted to works whose authors or creators filed
a renewal application with the copyright office prior to the
expiration of the first term. Therefore, works published and
copyrighted between 1923 and 1978 were protected for a total of 28 or
56 years from the date of publication, depending on whether or not
they were renewed.
To
further complicate matters, the Copyright Act of 1976 (which went
into effect in 1978) took into consideration the shorter term of
previously published works in comparison to the 75-year protection
that was then being extended. The second term for works who had
applied for copyright renewal was lengthened to 47 years, in order to
equal a total of 75 years for the two terms combined. This extension
did not affect works whose copyright was not renewed.
In
1998, then-President Clinton quietly signed into effect the Sonny
Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, sponsored by the late
singer-songwriter and congressman. This virtually unnoticed law
extended copyright protection for works renewed after 1923 a further
twenty years, for a total protection term of 95 years. Some believe
this particular protection will be extended every time Mickey Mouse
nears passage into the public domain, as the Disney Corporation
contributed significantly to the lobby for passing this law. For now,
the expiration time stands at 95 years.
(An
important note: In 1992, the Copyright Renewal Act eliminated the
need for the filing of a renewal application. Therefore, any work
first published between January 1, 1964, and December 31, 1977, was
automatically renewed for the extended 47-year copyright protection
term.)The
only way to tell whether a copyright registered between 1923 and 1963
was renewed is to obtain a certified copyright search report (a
process that will be covered further in this book). But there is good
news: this pool of available material is larger than you might think.
Only 7 percent of books published in the United States through 1958
were renewed for a second term. So checking into copyright renewal
for works from this period will more often than not prove worth your
while!
The
final stipulation to works produced prior to the 1989 blanket
copyright protection law is this:3.
Any work published in the United States between 1978 and March 1,
1989, without copyright notice that was not registered at the
Copyright Office is now in the public domain.
Since
automatic copyright protection did not go into effect until the 1989
law, and copyrighted work after 1978 was given a 75-year term of
protection, any work published without notice prior to March 1, 1989,
is considered public domain. Registration was encouraged but not
necessary; works during this period with copyright notices are
protected for 70 years from the death of the author, just as all
post-3/1/89 works are.There
is one final exception to all of the above rules: United States
government works. (Are you surprised?
The government is exempted from
everything else!)
Any publication released by the federal government
is considered public domain, regardless of publication date, and is
not protected under copyright law. Entrepreneurs have made successful
businesses based entirely on repackaging and selling copies of
government publications.Be
aware, however, that federally funded projects written by
non-government authors are covered by the copyright protection
extended to works of corporate authorship.
Also, state and local government publications may be copyrighted.
