The Public Domain

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Millions of creative works are available copyright-free in the public domain. Every year, more classic works enter the public domain as their copyrights expire. In 2026 alone, the book The Maltese Falcon, the character Betty Boop, the Marx Brothers movie Animal Crackers, and the song Georgia on My Mind entered the public domain.

The Public Domain helps you identify works that are not covered by copyright and explains how you can copy and adapt those works in your projects. It covers the rules for:

written works
music
art
photography
video
and more.


The 11th edition is completely updated to include new public domain resources and the latest legal changes to copyright protection, including for AI-generated works.