Public Domain

[Rob]

Hey,

Just wondering if anyone could tell me where I could find good lists of public domain content?

Thanks a lot,

Rob

[Chris]

Well anything published before 1923 is public domain.

Almost all things put out by the Government (FDA, CDC, any website that ends in .gov) is public domain.

Facts and figures are public domain.

Things specifically placed in the public domain are public domain.

[Rob]

thanks,

CDC was just what I was looking for. :)

Rob

[Chris]

Ya they have alot of good info. You can even write to them and get them to send you hard copies of stuff (pamphlets and whatnot)

[incka]

If you publish something that appears to be public domain and was made after 1923 you may be sued. Be aware.

Its unlikely that if you publish George Orwells 1984 published in 1949 that you will be sued, but you might, the Orwell estate might decide that it needs money and starts sueing...

[incka]

I'm from the UK.. so I'm confused...

CDC is Center For Diesiese Control ???? I think I read about it but I was wondering if it was something else.

[Chris]

Not all books published after 1923 are copyrighted.

I've searched copyright records for Orwell's books and can't find them... he was British and Britain has different laws.

Germany also has different laws so Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse is out of copyright even though that is a more recent book and Hesse only died in I think the 70's.

Additionally Austrailia also has different laws so if my site was there I could publish The Great Gatsby, which is still copyrighted here in the US.

So I use the US Copyright Office's website. If a work isn't listed in their database I publish it.

CDC = Centers for Disease Control

[incka]

The UK rules are 100 years... 20 more years than the US ones...

[Chris]

Do you have a source for that?

[incka]

I can find one... I'll post when I find it...

But even if I find it I don't think you should take the Orwell books off your site.

[incka]

Oh... the lawes changed...

It is protected for 70 years after the end of the year which the author died.

I think Orwell died in 1950 so in 2021 it will be legal to publish his works.

But I don't think much will happen to you if you publish them now...

SO PUT THE OTHER ORWELL BOOKS ON YOUR SITE - I WANT THE ROAD TO WIGAN PIER!!!

[incka]

I found this on a UK government site:

http://www.intellectual-property.gov.uk/std/faq/copyright/how_long.htm

[Chris]

Hm... doesn't answer the question though since it doesn't provide a search of copyright records like the US Copyright Office does.... and those laws were only enacted in 1996 it looks like so previous works that had already entered the public domain wouldn't be covered.

[incka]

In the UK there no copyright registration.

As soon as you make something its automatically copyrighted. You don't go anywhere to register it.

[agua]

Digging up an old thread I know - but how does copyright work in this sense...
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I have found a publication where the copyright has expired in Australia, but the copyright still applies in the USA.

My business is based and registered in Australia, but my hosting is based in the USA
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Also - is this publication (http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/10842) "Public Domain"?

The reason I ask is because it has this on the bottom " Web site copyright © 2003-2005 Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation — All Rights Reserved."

Cheers

[agua]

Any takers on these questions?

[Chris]

Gutenberg publishes public domain works. They release them to any use so long as you remove all Gutenberg references from them (kinda opposite what most people do).

If your hosting is in the US then you shouldn't publish the information. Get AU hosting. Honestly, I sometimes wish I lived in AU as the copyright laws are so much better and there is so much more I could publish.

[agua]

Thanks for the reply Chris - I'm looking for Aussie Hosting now :)


Honestly, I sometimes wish I lived in AU as the copyright laws are so much better and there is so much more I could publish. I've got to admit - it shocked me when I did some research.

[LuckyShima]

Ok that sounds great.