Creative works in the public domain are not protected by copyright and anyone may use them without seeking permission. There are several common ways that a work may enter the public domain, including:
- Copyright on the work has expired
- The work was created by the United States government
- The copyright owner did not properly comply with renewal requirements
- The work was purposely placed into the public domain, known as “dedicated to the public domain”
- Copyright does not protect that type of work
Works created using public domain content may still be subject to copyright protection.
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