Public Domain Guide

What Is The Public Domain?

Copyright is a type of intellectual property law that applies to tangential works, such as artwork, computer software, and published research. The public domain includes creative works that are not protected by copyright and are free to use by anyone without needing to obtain permissions.

How Does Content Enter Into The Public Domain?

Content can enter the public domain by having its copyright expire, if copyright law does not protect the specific type of content, or if the copyright owner dedicates it to the public domain. Entire collections of public domain content may be subject to restrictions, but individual public domain content can be downloaded and re-used by anyone.

"Louisiana Heron" by Robert Havell Jr. [Public Domain image from the National Gallery of Art]

Is It In The Public Domain?

To determine if a particular work might be in the public domain use the chart, Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States, created for the Cornell Copyright Information Center by Peter B. Hirtle.

In the Public Domain

• Works whose copyright protection has expired such as those published before January 1, 1929
• Works produced by the federal government
• Works published between January 1, 1929 and 1977 without a copyright notice
• Works whose authors choose to place their work in the public domain (See Creative Commons licensing options)

Possible Public Domain

• Research reports and other work funded by federal government agencies that appear in commercial publications or databases
• Works published between January 1, 1929 and 1977 that did not have their copyrights renewed

Protected by Copyright

• Anything created after March 1, 1989

Why Does The Public Domain Matter?

• Without the public domain, many works would be considered lost cultures.

• The public domain allows us to reuse, adapt, transform, and build on creative content.

• The public domain democratizes our access to educational and cultural materials.

Copyright Basics Tutorial

About this tutorial: "This lesson teaches learners about copyright basics using definitions, applications, and scenarios. Copyright is an important part of understanding how books, articles, art, movies, and other content can be used and cited."

This tutorial was created by Olivia Chin (2025). Find more UTK libraries tutorials with the Tutorials Guide.