LibGuides: Copyright for Students: Public Domain

Public Domain

Works in the public domain are no longer protected by copyright and can be freely used by the public. Works often become pubic domain because the copyright on the original work has expired or the creator decided to forgo copyrights and place the work in public domain, free of restrictions.

Resources in the Public Domain

These resources contain materials currently within the public domain. Some resources may also include copyright work, so be careful to look at the your search settings.

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Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg offers over 56,000 free eBooks: Choose among free epub books, free kindle books, download them or read them online. You will find the world's great literature here, especially older works for which copyright has expired.
GOVInfo: U.S. Government Documents GOVInfo is a service of the United States Government Publishing Office (GPO) and provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government.
Internet Archive Ebooks and Texts The Internet Archive offers over 15,000,000 freely downloadable books and texts free to read, download, and print. (Some texts have restrictions on bulk re-use and commercial use, so check any restrictions set for the collection or by the sponsor of a book.)
Europeana Collections Europeana Collections provides access to over 50 million digitized items – books, music, artworks and more – with sophisticated search and filter tools to help you find what you’re looking for. (Make sure to select Public Domain Marked under "CAN I USE IT?")
Library of Congress Digital Collections Access online collections: view maps & photographs; read letters, diaries & newspapers; hear personal accounts of events; listen to sound recordings & watch historic films. (The introductory page for each collection typically contains a link to copyright information; double check that the material you use is in the public domain.)

Placing works in the Public Domain

Creative Commons offers licensing agreements that allow creators to place their works in the public domain or waive their copyrights. For more information about the Creative Commons organization and their work, visit the Scholarly Communication LibGuide.

Creative Commons offers two public domain options. The CC0 license can be used if a creator wants to waive all interests and rights worldwide. This license ensures the copyrights that you have in jurisdictions outside of the U.S. are waived too. The public domain mark is for works that are free of known copyright restrictions, but other jurisdictions may have other restrictions.