public domain

American  

noun

Law.

1. the status of a literary work or an invention whose copyright or patent has expired or that never had such protection.

2. land owned by the government.

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public domain British  

noun

1. lands owned by a state or by the federal government

2. the status of a published work or invention upon which the copyright or patent has expired or which has not been patented or subject to copyright. It may thus be freely used by the public

3. able to be discussed and examined freely by the general public

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Other Word Forms

• public-domain
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of public domain

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

public domain

Its creator Olly, who did not share his last name, told the BBC he posts pictures in the public domain or where he has permission from the rights holder.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

Petrie-Morris announced that Fairground’s first products would riff on beloved public domain characters—Robin Hood, etc.—and then hopefully earn access to established IP through studio partnerships.

From Slate ● Aug. 16, 2026

Sinai.ai says it only offers books that are either in the public domain or ones where the author, their estate, or the publisher signed off first.

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

Jones sought to pre-empt an argument that the impending speech fell in the public domain.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026

Congress effectively outlawed their communal property, passing vast acreages into the public domain, tracts which then suddenly wound up in the hands of large American ranching enterprises like the Devine Company.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols