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  Copyright Basics: What is public domain?
 

The public domain consists of all works that never had copyright protection and works that no longer have copyright protection. The public domain also includes works created by the United States government. All works in the public domain are free for the public to use.

Example #1:

Works published prior to 1923 are in the public domain because their copyright has expired.

Example # 2:

Census reports, which are compiled and published by the United States government, are in the public domain.
 

The mission of the University Copyright Office is to educate the Purdue University community on copyright.
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