Millions of creative works—books, artwork, photos, songs, movies, and more—are available copyright-free in the public domain. Frozen for decades due to lengthened copyright terms, the public domain has finally begun to grow again as copyrights for older works expire. In 2025 alone, books such as The Sound and the Fury, A Farewell to Arms, and All Quiet on the Western Front, songs like Singin’ in the Rain” and “Happy Days Are Here Again,” and the character Popeye entered the public domain.
This is the only book that helps you find and identify which creative works are protected by copyright and which are not, The Public Domain covers rules for using all types of public domain works, including books and other written works, songs, art, movies, and more.
The 10th edition is completely updated to include new public domain resources and the latest legal changes to copyright and the public domain, including the copyrightability of AI-generated works.Stephen Fishman has dedicated his career as an attorney and author to writing useful, authoritative, and recognized guides on business, taxation, and intellectual property matters for small businesses, entrepreneurs, independent contractors, and freelancers. He is the author of 20 books and hundreds of articles, and has been quoted in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, and many other publications. Among his books are Every Landlord’s Tax Deduction Guide, Deduct It! Lower Your Small Business Taxes, and Working for Yourself: Law & Taxes for Independent Contractors, Freelancers & Gig Workers of All Types, published by Nolo. He is a two-time recipient of the Independent Book Publishers Association’s Benjamin Franklin Award.