Volume 2 Issue 4 - November  2000 What Is Public Domain? by Jerry Robinson, Editor Haven Publications One of the things that can concern publishers and many writers alike is the question of copyright protection. Not only must we vigilantly protect our own copyrights, but we must also be aware of the rights of other’s. The last thing we would want to do is infringe upon another's copyrights. Our work and our creativity are our livelihood. To alter, adulterate, or copy the work of another, whether intentional or unintentional, is a deadly sin equal to the ultimate sin of plagiarism. But what can be even more confusing than the landslide of copyright regulations, is the confusing array of regulations governing materials that are in the public domain. Public domain, in case you are not aware of what it is, means that certain works are not longer protected due to an expiration of their copyrights, or their copyrights were never properly secured in the first place. But, ---and this is a big 'BUT' --- just because something is in the public domain does not necessarily give you liberty to its use. To use a written work, such as Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper, which is in public domain, is much simpler than to use illustrations associated with the original work. Illustrations and photographs may be protected under trademark and unfair competition laws. Disney would be a good example of this. Peter Pan, the written novel, is in public domain, but the movie, the images, the songs, the script, the score, everything that has to do with the Disney animated production of that novel, remains protected under various copyrights and trademarks that are owned by Disney, for they are derivative works. You would have to obtain permission from Disney, and pay Disney a royalty to use any of the derivative work. You may be an avid fan of silent movies. You may wish to write a book about this. To write and to quote from those silent films is of no problem, especially if those films are over 75 years old, the current limit on unobstructed public domain. But (and here's another of those big 'BUTS'---) you cannot use still pictures, lobby cards, posters, frames, publicity pictures or any images from those films to illustrate your book UNLESS you get the written permission of whoever owns the rights to the photographs (the studio, the photographer, a magazine, etc.) and the permission of the actors and actresses portrayed in the photographs. Now you're probably saying to yourself, they're probably all deceased by now, and you would probably be right, but their image continues to be protected by what is known as an individual's right to privacy, and the individual's exclusive right to publicity. You would, if you wanted to use an image from a deceased movie star, have to obtain permission from that star's estate.  At one time, a work could fall into public domain if the proper copyright notice was not affixed to it. That's the little © symbol followed by the date of publication and the owner's name. Now, however, notice is not even required. Your work is protected from the date of its creation, whether published or not, whether registered or not. In order to place this into simple perspective, these are just a few rules you need to keep in mind if you ever find yourself dealing with copyrighted material that may be in the public domain: Quick Facts    Anything published more than 75 years ago is now in the public domain. The copyright has expired. (BUT there may be other regulations protecting the work).    Any work created prior to 1978, but not published, is protected for life plus 50 years, or a 75 to 100 year term.   Any work published or registered before 1964, but less than 75 years ago, the initial 28 year copyright term of protection, plus an additional 47 year renewal term IF RENEWED. If not, the copyright term has expired and the work is in public domain.   Any anonymous work, work created using a pseudonym, and works for hire, that were created before 1978, and published between 1964 and 1977, have a 75 year protection from the date of publication, or 100 years from the date it was created,which ever came first.   Works of a join nature, such as co-authored works that were created before 1978 have a copyright protection of 50 years past the death of the last remaining creator.   When dealing in copyright and public domain works, it is best to consult with a copyright attorney.   So you see, even something as simple as public domain becomes complex in the eyes of the law. To play it safe, you can take a written work that is in public domain and republish it with new illustrations. Only the new illustrations are subject to copyright. The original work, now in public domain, can never be copyrighted again. It belongs to the world.  Play it safe and stick with originality. The world needs new ideas, new drama, and new experiences. Your job, as a writer, is to create these new ideas and new dramatic plots. As an avid reader, I depend upon you for my entertainment and enlightenment. Wouldn't it be a dull world if all we had were several thousand derivative works of Peter Pan to entertain us? One is enough. Two is more than sufficient. But there is always room for originality.  Jerry Robinson, Editor ©2000 all rights reserved internationally Jerry was the owner of Haven Publications and the publisher and editor of the North American Gazette. His mission was 'To Entertain - To Inform - To Enlighten. The gazette was a real old fashioned good read, and I will miss it. While checking my links I noticed that Jerry's link was showing as an error, upon checking it out, I read a short notice announcing that Jerry had passed away. I was greatly saddened to learn this, he was a good writer and special web friend and I will miss him. I had known Jerry online, through email, for about three years and he had promised to write me an article for this newsletter, time passed and I had forgotten about it - but he didn't, not only did he go out of his way to feature my newsletter on his very professional online publication, he took the time to write this excellent and informative article to help new writers understand the complexities of copyright. I am so glad he did.

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