Public domain

When a work is in the public domain, it is free for use by anyone for any purpose. Public domain is the purest form of open/free, since no one owns owns or controls the material in any way. For more information, see Wikipedia's entry on public domain.

When does a work enter the public domain?

This varies by country. To see when a work in the United States enters the public domain, see copyright.gov's public domain page.