the.com/public domain
the copyright's expired, the party's open, everyone's invited to remix the corpse.
means creative work no longer (or never) owned by anyone, free for anyone to copy, share, or build on without permission.
from from roman law's res publicae, public things belonging to all; the modern copyright sense emerged in 19th-century france and the us as terms of protection were codified and, crucially, made to expire.
us term lengthlife of author plus 70 years, then freedom
disney's lobbyingrepeatedly extended copyright to protect mickey mouse
jan 1 ritualpublic domain day drops a fresh decade every year
government worksus federal documents are public domain the moment they're made
for instance
steamboat willie — entered us public domain january 1 2024, 95 years after 1928
sherlock holmes — fully public domain in the us as of 2023
shakespeare's plays — public domain for centuries, remixed endlessly, never sued
nasa photos — public domain from creation, no rights reserved, ever