Badge: Public Domain Explorer

What is the public domain? Why do you need to care? Well, this badge program takes a peek into the public domain and starts you on a journey you’re sure to love.

NOTE: For more specifics about this topic, see the badge program “Public Domain Basics.”

Steps

1. What?

Public domain refers to items that are not copyrighted. Anyone can use these to create another product without violating copyright. Originally, the concept of public domain was that new ideas could be built upon old ones. For this reason, copyright was limited in the amount of time an originally created piece could be held privately.

This means that if a piece of original content is in the public domain, you can take it and use it to make something else. Content creators use these materials all the time. Let’s talk about one in particular.

Have you seen a Disney movie? Most of their animated movies are based on fairy tales. If you do the research, you’ll find they’re in the public domain. So, you cannot take the Disney version and do anything with it. BUT you can take the original story and make your own version, updating the language, technology and societal norms in the story. Disney took free content and added their own twist and graphics to it . . . and made millions of dollars.

Just sit there a minute and let this sink in a minute. Then, add to this one more thought. You can do this too.

2. Laws.

US copyright law allows authors / artists the exclusive rights to hold onto their creations, make and sell copies, create derivative works, publically display or perform the work, or digitally transmit it. These rights are limited to 70 years after the creator’s death.

This is not true for “works for hire” as those who pay for the work to be created are considered the owner, not the creator. If a work is “corporate”, the term is 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation. Fair use can be claimed by educational institutions, libraries, archives and others who use a small clip. As you can see, this gets quite complicated.

Other countries have their own copyright laws that can change how someone in the US can use a work as well. For this reason, you need to do research on any piece of content to ensure that you are safe to use it. If you cannot determine that you can, a copyright or IP lawyer can be used to help determine the legalities. I am not a copyright / IP lawyer. I am only providing this information for educational / entertainment purposes.

Examine the laws surrounding copyright in the US or the country in which you live.

3. Infringement.

When you take something in copyright and use it for your own purposes, especially to make money from it, you are infringing on someone else’s copyright. This is why you must determine if a piece of content is in the public domain first.

If you google an image, chances are someone owns the copyright. Since 1989, a copyright notice does not need to appear with the work. It is understood that it is the property of someone . . . and chances are that it is not you. Registering a copyright offers additional protections, but with the amount of content that is added to the Internet daily, I can guarantee most creators do not take this step.

While you can take that image you found and use it, don’t be shocked if someone comes after you for stealing their work. You can avoid this by getting permission of the copyright holder to use the image. Examine how you might get permission to use an item that falls under copyright.

4. Dover.

If you’ve ever purchased clip art or public domain books from Dover, you might think you’re in the clear using their content however you wish. However, they’ve spent a lot of time and money converting the public domain content into usable digital files. With their content, they state how you might use the content in the book. Be sure to follow it as there is legal precedence that allows them to sue you. However, you can take the information from the book and find the original content source and work from that. Take an item Dover has available for sale and find original in the public domain that you can use and compare the two.

5. Numbers.

At the time this badge program was released, Project Gutenberg offered over 57,000 free ebooks from the public domain. The Internet Archive has not only 19 million pieces of text, they also have audio, video and more available for you to look through for public domain content. Pixabay has over 1.5 million royalty free stock photos and videos.

Check out these sites to see what is available. Note any ideas that come to you about what you might do with the content you find.

6. Search.

So, you want to search for public domain content? Here’s a list of search terms to get you started.

Public domain
Not copyrighted
CC0
Free culture
Open culture

7. Offline.

In the US, there are over 85 million books in the public domain. Worldwide, this number jumps to over 2 billion books.

These millions of books no longer have any copyright attached to them. Most are not available online. Add to that all the other types of medium that fall into the public domain. You have a virtual treasure trove of content you can use for your own projects. You just need to know where to look. Check out libraries, used book stores, antique shops and other places where you might be able to find old books and items for use.

8. Types.

At this point, you might think we’re only talking about books and stories. This is not true. Here’s a partial list of the different types of public domain content.

Books
Periodicals / magazines / newspapers
Manuscripts
Video / film
Audio / radio / music
Musical scores
Images / photographs / artwork
Government works (US federal)*
Ephemera
Charts / calendars / lists
Maps / atlases
Expired patents

*Not all US federal items are in the public domain. If the government worked with an organization outside of itself, it may fall into copyright. Check the information available where you find the original item to determine if it is free to use.

9. No copyright.

Some items cannot be copyrighted. Here’s a short list to get you started thinking about this.

Common geometric shapes
Familiar symbols and designs
Colors
Non-digital typefaces
Naturally occurring items (trees, flowers, etc.)
Works not fixed in a tangible medium
Titles, names, short phrases
List of ingredients / contents
Ideas, methods, processes, concepts, etc.

10. Topics.

So you want to learn more about a specific topic? Start with what you’re interested in. You might want to list alternative names for your interest. For example, I crochet. I can search for “crochet”, but I’d also look for needlework as it is often classified together. Children’s books might be found under “little folks.” As you explore, note words that were used for a certain topic that have changed over time.

11. Lists.

Lists of items do not fall under copyright. So, you can take the list of ingredients for a recipe and create your own from it . . . just don’t use the directions for the recipe as those do fall under copyright. Sharing lists of things online is a great way to attract people to your site / content. What kinds of lists might you find in the public domain?

12. More.

To find out more about the public domain and what you can legally use, check out the “Public Domain Basics” badge program.

Badge and Supplement Files

Member Level

EP_Badge List_PD Explorer_larajla — list of badge items
EP_Badge Set_PD Explorer_larajla — list of badge set and related badges
EP_Supp_List_PD Explorer_larajla — list of supplements for the badge
SUPP_BPG_PD Explorer_2in_12up_larajla — generic badge printable
SUPP_PD Explorer_Journal_larajla — badge journal
SUPP_PD Explorer_Planner_larajla — badge planner

Supplement Fun

Sites to Explore

Get the infographic here > larajla blog post

Get the PDFs of the badge program / supplements here > Full badge PDFs