Public Domain

Public domain in general refers to the “work, information and ideas that are available in public, but in the perspective of intellectual property law, which includes copyright, patents and trademarks etc which are available to be used by the individuals in public.”

Earlier it was not in the copyright law and it was first recognized in Britain with the statute of Anne 1709. The expression "fall in the public domain" can be very well traced to the mid 19th Century France to tell the end of the copyright term.

The Copyright law was formed by the decree and all the works created and published earlier than the copyright law that was initially established are in the public domain. Pamela Samuelson has given the phrase for the public domain as "different sizes at different times in different countries" because the copyright law is different from country to country. She has defined 8 values for the public domain:

• Building blocks for the conception of new-fangled information and some of the examples comprise of theories, data, ideas, scientific principle and facts.
• Mozart’s symphonies and ancient Greek texts are used to access the information regarding the cultural heritage.
• In the course of the increase of information, scientific principles and ideas education is being promoted.
• Enabling consequential modernization, through for example copyright and expired patents.
• Enabling low fee in order to get the information devoid of the call for to locate the owner or discuss about the rights, clearance and pay royalties.
• Through information and technical principles promote safety and public health.
• Through laws, news, judicial estimation and regulation the democratic process is being promoted.
• Enabling viable simulation, if the patents are expired and their copyright is being disclosed in public and it doest not meet the criteria for patent protection.

The scrutiny that the folklore and traditional knowledge were in the public domain and it was free for anyone to use was challenged by the lately independent African and Asian nations of the 1960s. The African countries considered that the folklore was a part of the “Cultural heritage of the African nations.”

Questions:

• What is meant by Berne Convention?
• What is the work of public domain in the Information Society?