Public domain
From Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia written in simple English for easy reading.
Public domain is a phrase that describes something that belongs to all people in general: the public. It can mean that it is "public property". Public domain is only used to describe things such as photographs, drawings, written articles, books or plays, or similar things.
Another way to use the phrase is this: If a person has published something in a book or newspaper (and so it is no longer private), we say it is in the public domain. But in this usage it may still not belong to the public, it may be copyrighted.
