A creative work, invention or logo that is available for use without permission from its owner. This typically occurs after patent, trademark or copyright protection has expired.
- in copyright law, the right of anyone to use literature, music or other previously copyrighted materials after the copyright period has expired. Although the copyright laws have been changed several times, a rule of thumb would be that the last possible date for copyright protection would be 50 years after the death of the author. Thus, the works of William Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Jack London and other classic writers are in the public domain and may be published by anyone without payment of a royalty.
- all lands and waters owned by federal, state and local governments.
In law, to say a piece of knowledge, invention, or creative work is part of the public domain means that no one can or should claim intellectual property (IP) rights to that work.
Legal rights that remove an intangible asset from the public domain include patents, copyrights, and trademarks. Generally, these IP rights expire after a certain number of years, and then the work automatically enters the public domain. Although public domain is most commonly used to describe intangible assets which no one can claim property rights to, the term can also be used with tangible assets. For instance, land owned by the US government is sometimes called public domain. New technologies have begun to create more complex distinctions about what is, or should be public domain. For instance, software developers will sometimes release executables into the public domain, but withhold the source code as proprietary. More controversially, biotechnology companies have begun applying to patent individual gene sequences, which critics assert are clearly part of the public domain. This page’s contents are not public domain!
This site contains general legal information but does not constitute professional legal advice for your particular situation. Persuing this glossary does not create an attorney-client or legal adviser relationship. If you have specific questions, please consult a qualified attorney licensed in your jurisdiction.
This glossary post was last updated: 29th March, 2024.
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- Page URL:https://dlssolicitors.com/define/public-domain/
- Modern Language Association (MLA):Public Domain. dlssolicitors.com. DLS Solicitors. April 18, 2024 https://dlssolicitors.com/define/public-domain/.
- Chicago Manual of Style (CMS):Public Domain. dlssolicitors.com. DLS Solicitors. https://dlssolicitors.com/define/public-domain/ (accessed: April 18, 2024).
- American Psychological Association (APA):Public Domain. dlssolicitors.com. Retrieved April 18, 2024, from dlssolicitors.com website: https://dlssolicitors.com/define/public-domain/
