What is the public domain?

In many countries, the term ‘public domain’ actually has two meanings.

The first meaning refers to public knowledge or making something publicly available.

The second meaning is a legal term that refers to the collection of works that are not copyrighted. This is the meaning that we use in this toolkit. This includes works with copyright terms that have expired, works that were dedicated originally to the public domain, and works that are not eligible for copyright. These works are ‘no rights reserved’ – people may use them freely for any purpose without requesting permission.