What is the public domain?
Answer
Works that are no longer protected by copyright are within the public domain and can be used without permission or reimbursement. This is a result of either the work aging out of copyright protection or because an author chose to place their works in the public domain, foregoing copyright protection.
The length of copyright changed greatly during the 20th century, so it can be tricky to identify if a work is within the public domain or not. As of January 1, 2025, anything published in or before 1929 is within the public domain.
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