INFO LIT: The Public Domain

Why is it important to learn about the public domain?

• Works in the public domain are essentially up for grabs — you are able to use, adapt, remix, etc. them without needing to seek permission from anyone. There's no fee for using these works!
• How creative can you get? Here are some ideas:
  • You're free to make your movie version of The Great Gatsby
  • You can write and perform your opera based on Bartolomé Esteban Murillo's Two Women at a Window
  • You can make a Frankenstein graphic novel without having to send royalties to the estate of Mary Shelley. (phew!)
• You're only limited by the confines of your imagination — no rules or restrictions on the source material!

Also...

• Ownership of creative works can be important to creators, especially in their lifetime. It can be helpful (and important!) to understand how to avoid infringing anyone's rights over their own work. In some cases, copyright infringement can be a big — and expensive — problem!

Images: Matteo Olivieri (?), 1430s; Profile Portrait of a Young Man, 1430/1450. Both via the National Gallery of Art.