Introduction To The Public Domain
Typically 'Public Domain' describes literary, musical, artistic and other creative works, which are no longer protected by copyright and others that were never subject to copyright. Laws vary by country, but are fairly easy to follow.
'Public Domain' has confusing definitions but just one main meaning, namely that items in the public domain - that is books, manuals, training courses, pictures, photographs, posters, postcards, music, movies, and other works of art - have no definite owner, they belong to no one, they're available free of charge for anyone to copy, change, sell and distribute in any legal and ethical manner.
Copyright Law and the Public Domain
No one knows for certain the true extent of the public domain, but there are solid guidelines for checking the vast majority of creative works.
We don't presume to offer legal advice; information contained here is the result of extensive research, given in good faith to the best of our understanding, and based on items known for certain to be in the public domain in their country of origin.
You must check all products that interest you very carefully. An item that looks to be in the public domain might be copyright protected in another country or legally protected as a derivative product ('derived' from the public domain) even where no physical evidence exists to prove the fact.
The Simplest Ways to Create Your Own Unique Products from the Public Domain
By far the easiest and often the most profitable way to make money from the public domain is to look for ways to reconstruct an item without making extensive changes to the original item. But that being the case you will be sharing your public domain end products with potentially thousands of other marketers. How silly is that given an hour or two of easy work can turn a free-for-all earlier item into something unique? You need to reconstruct those earlier items, you need to create products that are exclusive to your business.
Nevertheless, there can be times when simply photocopying or otherwise reprinting the earlier item unchanged can still be very profitable. This is especially so where original copies of public domain items are in short supply, or even unique, which more or less means only one person can profit from modern day editions. Arguably, if someone buys your modern version and realises it is an exact copy of the original item, that person might recreate and sell your new product and have little to fear from you. Your exact copy of the original item is unlikely to have full copyright protection despite you being sole owner of that earlier creative work. Thankfully, you can stop your work being stolen this way by making a few changes to the text or other feature of the earliest work which gives your new product its own exclusive copyright. Finally, add your copyright notice, don't ever divulge whatever changes you made to the original item. This makes it unlikely that anyone can copy your work without incorporating at least a few of your changes and effectively breaching your copyright.
This means that, where an item is quite rare you can reprint text and illustrations 'as is', in print format, and make just a few tiny changes directly to the original item or onto a perfect copy. You could, for example, add a border to illustrations or an index page where none existed earlier, or underline certain portions on the original document. Do whatever it takes to make your new version substantially different from the original. Now you can simply scan or photocopy the original item or first copy and use this to create subsequent copies.
NOTE: Before embarking on any project the full copyright laws need to be adhered to.
Typically 'Public Domain' describes literary, musical, artistic and other creative works, which are no longer protected by copyright and others that were never subject to copyright. Laws vary by country, but are fairly easy to follow.
'Public Domain' has confusing definitions but just one main meaning, namely that items in the public domain - that is books, manuals, training courses, pictures, photographs, posters, postcards, music, movies, and other works of art - have no definite owner, they belong to no one, they're available free of charge for anyone to copy, change, sell and distribute in any legal and ethical manner.
Copyright Law and the Public Domain
No one knows for certain the true extent of the public domain, but there are solid guidelines for checking the vast majority of creative works.
We don't presume to offer legal advice; information contained here is the result of extensive research, given in good faith to the best of our understanding, and based on items known for certain to be in the public domain in their country of origin.
You must check all products that interest you very carefully. An item that looks to be in the public domain might be copyright protected in another country or legally protected as a derivative product ('derived' from the public domain) even where no physical evidence exists to prove the fact.
The Simplest Ways to Create Your Own Unique Products from the Public Domain
By far the easiest and often the most profitable way to make money from the public domain is to look for ways to reconstruct an item without making extensive changes to the original item. But that being the case you will be sharing your public domain end products with potentially thousands of other marketers. How silly is that given an hour or two of easy work can turn a free-for-all earlier item into something unique? You need to reconstruct those earlier items, you need to create products that are exclusive to your business.
Nevertheless, there can be times when simply photocopying or otherwise reprinting the earlier item unchanged can still be very profitable. This is especially so where original copies of public domain items are in short supply, or even unique, which more or less means only one person can profit from modern day editions. Arguably, if someone buys your modern version and realises it is an exact copy of the original item, that person might recreate and sell your new product and have little to fear from you. Your exact copy of the original item is unlikely to have full copyright protection despite you being sole owner of that earlier creative work. Thankfully, you can stop your work being stolen this way by making a few changes to the text or other feature of the earliest work which gives your new product its own exclusive copyright. Finally, add your copyright notice, don't ever divulge whatever changes you made to the original item. This makes it unlikely that anyone can copy your work without incorporating at least a few of your changes and effectively breaching your copyright.
This means that, where an item is quite rare you can reprint text and illustrations 'as is', in print format, and make just a few tiny changes directly to the original item or onto a perfect copy. You could, for example, add a border to illustrations or an index page where none existed earlier, or underline certain portions on the original document. Do whatever it takes to make your new version substantially different from the original. Now you can simply scan or photocopy the original item or first copy and use this to create subsequent copies.
NOTE: Before embarking on any project the full copyright laws need to be adhered to.
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