There is an exception to the principle that you cannot copy the single expression of a fact or idea. If there are a limited number of ways to express the fact or idea, you can copy the expression. This is called the “doctrine of fusion,” that is, the idea and expression are fused or inseparable. In the case of a map, for example, there are very few ways to express the symbol of an airport, except by using a small image of an airplane. In this case, you are free to use the airport symbol. Similarly, there may be a limited way to express a rule in the public domain, such as saying, “Works published in the United States before 1923 are in the public domain.” Fact and expression are inextricably linked, so you can copy the expression. As you can imagine, this is a very contentious area, and many companies have come together to determine the limits of the merger doctrine. For example, Microsoft and Apple have negotiated the right to use the trash can icon as an icon to delete computer hardware. A federal appeals court ruled that design restrictions made the Recycle Bin an unprotectable part of the graphics surface and that Apple could not claim infringement solely on the basis of another company`s use of a similar icon. (Apple Computer, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp., 35 F.3d 1435 (9th Cir. 1994).) Derivative works include translations, musical arrangements and dramatizations of a work, as well as other forms of transformation or adaptation.
[29] Works protected by copyright may not be used for derivative works without the permission of the copyright holder,[30] while public domain works may be freely used for derivative works without permission. [31] [32] Works of art in the public domain may also be photographically or artistically reproduced or used as a basis for new interpretive works. [33] Derivative works of public domain works may be protected by copyright. [34] Prior to 1988, works could easily be made public domain in the United States simply by being published without an explicit copyright notice. With the Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988 (and the former Copyright Act of 1976, which came into force in 1978), all works were protected by copyright by default and had to be actively placed in the public domain by means of a waiver/anti-copyright notice. [51] [52] Not all legal systems provide for procedures for the reliable donation of works to the public, e.g. continental European civil law. [ref. needed] It may even “effectively prohibit any attempt by copyright owners to automatically surrender statutory rights, particularly moral rights.” [53] An important element to understand about public domain material is that, while all works are publicly owned, collections of public domain works may be protected by copyright. For example, if someone has collected public domain images from a book or website, the collection as a whole may be protected, even if the individual images are not. You are free to copy and use individual images, but copying and distributing the entire collection may violate the copyright of “collective works.” Collections of public domain material are protected if the person who created them has been creative in the selection and organization of public domain material.
This usually involves a unique selection process, for example, a poetry specialist compiling a book – The Greatest Poems of e.e. Cummings. Another concern is whether the person making the dedication has the right to do so. Only the copyright owner may dedicate a work to the public domain. Sometimes the creator of the work is not the copyright holder and has no authority. If in doubt, contact the copyright holder to verify the dedication. Definitions of the boundaries of the public domain in relation to copyright or intellectual property in general consider the public domain as a negative space; That is, these are works that are no longer protected by copyright or have never been protected by copyright. [18] According to James Boyle, this definition emphasizes the general use of the term public domain and equates the public domain with public property and copyrighted works with private property. However, the use of the term public domain may be more granular, including, for example, the use of copyrighted works permitted by copyright exceptions. Such a definition treats copyrighted works as private property subject to fair use rights and ownership restrictions. [1] A conceptual definition comes from Lange, who focused on what the public sphere should be: “It should be a place of refuge for individual creative expression, a sanctuary that offers affirmative protection against the forces of private appropriation that threatened that expression.” [18] Patterson and Lindberg described the public sphere not as “territory” but as a concept: “There are certain materials—the air we breathe, sunlight, rain, space, life, creations, thoughts, feelings, ideas, words, numbers—that are not subject to private property.
The materials that make up our cultural heritage must be free so that all living things use nothing less than the material necessary for biological survival. [19] The term public domain can also be used interchangeably with other imprecise or indefinite terms such as public or commons, including concepts such as “commons of the mind,” “intellectual commons,” and “information commons.” [10] Public Domain Day is an observation of when copyright expires and works enter the public domain. [70] This legal transfer of copyrighted works into the public domain generally takes place annually on 1. January based on each country`s individual copyright laws. [70] There are four common ways to enter the public domain: Because of the different duration of copyright in each country, a work that is still protected by copyright in the United States.