>My question is: What exactly is considered public domain art? If I
>am selling a text book then what images am I allowed to use? Are
>all images prior to 1923 considered public domain?? Any help on
>this would be greatly appreciated!
>
>Donna
Donna,
I don't know if this will help you much, but here's a paragraph from
something I wrote recently :
>The term "Public Domain" refers to a body of intellectual property
>not protected by copyright laws and thus freely available for public
>use. This realm includes, but isn't limited to, original material
>that has been distributed freely by its creator with no restrictions
>on its use as well as original works for which the previous
>copyright or patent has expired and was not renewed. Some works
>previously under copyright enter into the Public Domain depending
>upon when they were created and the circumstances of their first
>publication. For more information, see When Works Pass Into the
>Public Domain in the United States: Copyright Term for Archivists on
>Cornell's Copyright Information Center Web site located at:
>http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/training/Hirtle_Public_Domain.htm.
Note that just because a work or image was created before 1923
doesn't necessarily mean that it is part of the Public Domain (it's
copyright may be renewed). To learn more about the current debate
surrounding "public domain," see the following web pages:
