Product Description

Need content? It's free for the taking!

Even though for years teachers have told us otherwise, writers and artists can copy other people’s work and get away with it. How? By dipping into the public domain, where everything is free for the taking.

The Public Domain is the only book that helps you find and identify what creative works are protected by copyright -- and what's not. The book provides specific information about:

*writings *music *art *photography *architecture *maps *choreography *movies and video *software *databases *collections

The 3rd edition is completely updated and revised, and includes information about the latest court decisions and the emergence of the "copyright commons." The book also provides hundreds of resources to help you find public-domain works.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #123598 in Books
• Published on: 2006-05-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 538 pages

Review
"A superb offering showing how to avoid lawsuits by getting one's handson thousands of public domain songs, movies and manuscripts." -- James Coates, Chicago Tribune

"How do you tell the difference between what's copyrighted and what isn't? A good starting point is StephenFishman's Public Domain." -- Associated Press

"The constitutional guarantee of a public domain was one of the Framers' most important gifts to our cultural tradition. -- Laurence Lessig, author, Code & Other Laws of Cyberspace

About the Author
Stephen Fishman is the author of many Nolo books, most recently Tax Deductions for Professionals. Other titles include Deduct It! Lower Your Small Business Taxes, Every Landlord's Tax Deduction Guide and Home Business Tax Deductions: Keep What You Earn plus many other legal and business books. He received his law degree from the University of Southern California in 1979. After time in government and private practice, he became a full-time legal writer in 1983.

Customer Reviews

One of the most useful books I have ever encountered
This fat and informative book is a goldmine for anyone interested in public domain works, whether writings, music, art, films or just about anything else. The author, Attorney Stephen Fishman, begins with an examination of copyright laws and the public domain. After that, the book begins each of the chapters on copyrightable materials with a handy checklist for use in determining public domain status, and then launches into a discussion of how to determine the public domain status of such an item. After those useful chapters, the author examines the use of copyrighted and public domain works.

This is one of the most useful books I have ever encountered. It contains most everything you need to know in determining the public domain status of a work, and it is organized in a simple, easy-to-use format (ala the ___ for Dummies books), that is sure to inform the reader, and never lose him or her. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in whether or not something is in the public domain, and thus open to free use.

The first and last word in finding free art and music
Highly recommended! I'm an artist and musician and I've been waiting for a book like this for years. It's like a road map that lets you figure out what stuff you can use without permission (and without having to ask a lawyer if its okay). And there is a lot of free art out there ... not just old stuff but U.S. government art, etc. It's a very sharp, well-written book with lots of interesting trivia, too.

Another great NOLO publication!
NOLO writes legal books for the rest of us. I've used other NOLO books and gave this one a shot. I found this book to be a wonderful guide to the whole subject of public domain, from where to find it to how to use it effectively. It was also a great introduction to the history of public domain and its significance in the legal landscape of intellectual property. it's a great resourse for anyone that needs creative content for free!