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Can I use Public Domain material and add my own experience to it to write content for my website?

by Peter Thomas
11 replies
Hello Warriors,

I was at the library book sale last weekend and I found a personal development book when I was browsing and it was interesting because most of the principles in that book I had followed and experienced in my life and that brought me to America.

On the last page of that book, I saw a hand-written note as follows:

"the copyright of this book expired and it is in public domain". In the front the copyright was 1953.

It was a hard cover book and the price was just $1! So, I bought it!

What does in "Public Domain" mean? I asked my colleagues at work and they all gave a blank stare, looks like all they know is facebook, twitter, texting and email.

Can you helpful warriors let me know the following?

1. How will I know for sure the copyright has expired?
2. Can I use that book and with my experience, create an outline for a-book, audio product?
3. Is it legal to do #2?
4. What else can I do with this type of information?

Thanks,
Peter.
#add #content #domain #experience #material #public #website #write
  • Profile picture of the author SunilTanna
    If it's truly public domain, you can do almost anything you want.

    1953 is however rather recent to be public domain. It might still be copyrighted, despite the hand-written note.

    you may find this page helpful:

    Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States

    In other countries, the laws are different from the US.
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  • Profile picture of the author J Bold
    You need to research and make absolutely certain it's truly public domain.

    If it is, yes you can go ahead and use it almost completely as you wish, really.
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    • Profile picture of the author Peter Thomas
      How to do research?

      The link only tells about what is in public domain or what may not be.
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      • Profile picture of the author RobinInTexas
        Originally Posted by Peter Thomas View Post

        How to do research?

        The link only tells about what is in public domain or what may not be.
        You really don't want the answer, but here it is


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        Robin



        ...Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just set there.
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        • Profile picture of the author stoltingmediagroup
          Originally Posted by RobinInTexas View Post

          You really don't want the answer, but here it is
          This is true. The process via Library of Congress Copyright office is somewhat tedious and expensive. Thus Gutenberg was my first suggestion in hopes that they might have already worked with the title. Going through the other routes of contacting peoples estates etc and writing letters etc are other options as well, but hey, it all depends on the value of the outcome for Peter.
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          • Profile picture of the author Peter Thomas
            Thank you people. I get it now. Will research further. Thank you for your suggestions.
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  • Profile picture of the author stoltingmediagroup
    Go here and search for the title of your book.

    Free ebooks - Project Gutenberg

    If it's in their database, then most likely it is Public Domain.

    From there, if they have already worked on it and typed it up and converted it,
    then you can simply download the book from them in your preferred format,
    and work with the text. (so you don't have to type it from your hard copy).

    Let me know how it went.
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    Arnold Stolting - Stolting Media Group
    "I LOVE The Song! The Vibe Is Positive And Firm!" - Kymani Marley. (Son of Bob Marley).
    "Very High Quality!" Jeremy Harding - Manager / Producer. Sean Paul.
    "They Are FANTASTIC!" - Willie Crawford.
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  • Profile picture of the author Josh Anderson
    Hi Peter,

    I and many other warriors have made a lot of money from the public domain.

    It's not hard to do...

    I have one strong word of advice... if you plan on pursuing public domain publishing buy this book: Amazon.com: The Public Domain: How to Find and...Amazon.com: The Public Domain: How to Find and...
    Honestly, I think every online business owner should have this as a reference.
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    • Profile picture of the author Peter Thomas
      Originally Posted by Josh Anderson View Post

      Hi Peter,

      I and many other warriors have made a lot of money from the public domain.

      It's not hard to do...

      I have one strong word of advice... if you plan on pursuing public domain publishing buy this book: Amazon.com: The Public Domain: How to Find and Use Copyright-Free Writings, Music, Art & More (9780873374330): Stephen Fishman: Books

      Honestly, I think every online business owner should have this as a reference.
      Hello Josh,

      Thank you. That was a big help. After reading your post, I went to the local library and they had that book. So, checked it out and read it immediately.

      The book says regarding researching copyright renewals yourself: "This is relatively easy to do if the work was published during 1950-1963, because the search can be done using the internet. But renewal searches for works published from 1923 through 1950 can be much more difficult too do yourself."

      Since, the book I bought was published in 1953, I went to the copyright office website and did not see any renewals.

      Now, you said "I and many other warriors have made a lot of money from the public domain.

      It's not hard to do..."

      Can you suggest me some ways to provide value to people and eventually make some money out of this public domain information?

      Regards,
      Peter.
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