What is the public domain?

The public domain is a concept related to copyright law that involves works that are no longer protected by intellectual property rights. This includes works that are no longer covered by copyright protection and those that were never eligible for copyright protection due to their traditionally not having been eligible for such protection by law. Examples of works in the public domain include works of the United States government, works whose copyright has expired due to age, works created before copyright protection was available, and works dedicated to the public domain by their creators. In Virginia, any work that was published before 1978 is automatically placed into the public domain. Additionally, any work published after 1978 that has had its copyright registration for the work become invalid within five years is also placed in the public domain. Due to the ease of access to works in the public domain, they can serve as a great resource for students of any age, including 10th grade students, when conducting research.

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