Skip to Main Content
UMass Chan Medical School, Lamar Soutter Library. Education. Research. Health Care. Empowering the future. Preserving the past.
UMass Chan Medical School Homepage Lamar Soutter Library Homepage

Copyright Resources

Guide to copyright for the UMass Chan community including author rights, reusing material for teaching and research, and Creative Commons licenses.

What is the Public Domain?

The Public Domain is the term used to describe the set of works not protected by intellectual property laws such as copyright, trademark, or patent laws. It is the name for those works that are held in common by the public and can be used freely as a resource for new knowledge.

Four common ways that works fall into the public domain include:

  • the copyright has expired
  • the copyright owner failed to follow copyright renewal rules
  • the copyright owner deliberately places it in the public domain, known as “dedication,” or
  • copyright law does not protect this type of work.

Works in the public domain may be used freely without the permission of the former copyright owner (U.S. Copyright Office). It is highly recommended that you give proper attribution, however.

Digital Copyright Slider

You can use the Digital Copyright Slider to find out if a work is in the Public Domain.

Digital copyright slider with, directions, response of whether material is in the public domain or permission is required, and slider for date of first publication timeline

This tool can help you determine if a work is in the public domain.

 

Sources of Public Domain Works