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

Earlier this year, the preliminary design of Betty Boop featured in “Dizzy Dishes” entered public domain.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026

“I had thought these were our deepest secrets, the things we kept entirely for each other,” she thinks, but by some grievous betrayal they have entered the public domain.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026

But the widespread internet outages, a slowing economy and rising prices have seen discontent trickle into the public domain in recent weeks.

From Barron's ● May 7, 2026

But she acknowledged "there are, of course, always lessons to be learnt" when it comes to what the police put in the public domain.

From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2026

"We're a public domain organization. There's no such thing as secret or secure information here."

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir