Public Domain

The public domain refers to any creative work that can be used by other people. Books that are in the public domain are not protected by copyright laws.

Copyright and Public Domain

After a certain period of time, books are entered into the public domain which allows other authors to use certain things from those books in their own works. Copyright doesn’t protect ideas themselves, but instead protects the way people choose to show their ideas. Within the rules of the public domain, everyone is able to use anything from the public domain. No one needs to ask permission or pay any fines in order to use ideas from the public domain, they simply have access to it. “After twenty-eight years, the author’s rights in the work would expire, and it would enter into the public domain. The concept of the public domain ensured that, eventually, all creative works would be free to circulate among all members of society” (Robinson 195-196).

Examples

For example, Cinderella and many other fairytales are included in the public domain which is why so many creative pieces show a reworking of those ideas, characters, plots, and other literary elements. Many books have been adapted into plays, movies, TV shows, and spin-offs, many of them being within the public domain.

Other examples of books in the public domain include The Stranger Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, The Iliad by Homer, Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie, and Moby Dick by Herman Melville. Many more titles can be found on the Public Domain Library website.

Publishing Industry

Without the public domain or copyright, there would be more chaos within the publishing industry as lawsuits would ensue left and right. The publishing industry, and the world in general, would be completely different than what we have today.