• definitely is in the Public Domain in the U.S. (published before 1923!)
• consists of material popular in several categories on eBay, such as genealogy, history, immigrants, old ships, photos and maps
• is a great example of  taking one item that can be used to make many “derivative” products you can create and sell

Since your research shows that there is a market ready, willing, and eager for products you could produce from your old book, you think to yourself what can you do with it?

You want to make a go of this because you have read and studied about Public Domain being a great resource on creating a variety of products that can be used in building your own successful online business.

This 1872 dusty old publication is available for downloading at one of the very best sources for Public Domain material – Project Gutenberg – and it is a continually growing source.  Items enter the Public Domain every day – those are all the works that have fallen out of copyright protection.  This means that their copyrights expired and their copyrights have not been renewed.

Go visit Project Gutenberg at www.gutenberg.org and spend some time exploring.  You’ll have fun at what you’ll discover there!

Because your Public Domain book is available for downloading, you can keep your original physical copy intact and not take it apart for scanning and re-working the contents.   Who knows, you may want to sell your physical copy someday knowing someone would pay you a good sum for it on eBay or Amazon.com.  But, that’s a whole other direction so let’s stay on topic.

So, for now, here’s what you can do:

• make print copies from some of the great illustrations and photographs in the book, after you have altered them (just enough to make them your own creation) so that you now are able to copyright them as your own work

• group information together featuring specific surnames, which ships these people arrived on, and maps and photos displaying the people and where they located in their new land
• translate the book into another language – perhaps just a sub-section from the book for immigrants from Ireland, or Russia, or wherever!

History and genealogy buffs are always on the lookout for information to fill their interests.

A huge demand exists for  all types of information in all kinds of product format offerings.   Doing some research on what categories  are in demand right now will give you ideas of your own to use, or you can follow the big selling trends that are the most popular today.

From this you can easily get started on  your own business creating products from works you found in the Public Domain.

Till next time,

Jackie

Some works were never copyrighted when originally produced.  Think of all the free software we can simply download and use, for example.   And as I mentioned the other day in my post, much of the reports and other materials published by the many divisions of the U.S. government are copyright free.  All of the agencies of the federal government have material that can be copied and downloaded, or physically obtained, and used in a multitude of ways in various business enterprises.  There are photos available for all of the National Parks, photos of wildlife, photos of our cities and towns and highways, photos chronicling past historical events  – even photos of our paper money and coins produced at our mints.  You simply access the government sources for this material and often it is simply a matter of downloading what you want, or obtaining the physical item,  and sizing it and re-working it to use in a variety of repackaged product offerings.

Again, when it comes to published works, copyright law must not be overlooked.

Basic copyright guidelines

• anything published in the U.S. before 1923 is in the Public Domain
• for works published between 1923 and 1978 in the U.S.,  that do not have a valid copyright notice, they are in the Public Domain
• for works published in the U.S. between 1923 and 1963, that did not renew their copyright in the 28th year following first publication, they are in the Public Domain.

Note:   This is a small amount of information on copyright restrictions to make you aware of the basics.  You are individually responsible to be certain you are following the law on copyright, if any, concerning your chosen “work.”  This is nothing to fear, though!  You just need to know!

The Public Domain is a huge universe to be tapped into and I will talk about some ways to profit in a small business using Public Domain material.

Till next time,

Jackie

The Public Domain refers to the huge and diverse compilation of creative works that are not under the protection of copyright law.  Artisitic creative works include films and plays, paintings, photographs, drawings, illustrations, cartoons, postcards, to name some examples.   Literary and musical examples include books, magazines, articles, instruction manuals, courses and workbooks, reports, and musical compositions and lyrics.  And since government printing and publishing is all at taxpayer expense, government publications of all kinds (except Classified!) are in the Public Domain.

Next – How does copyright law relate to the Public Domain

To put it simply, for the time being, for a “work” to be in the Public Domain means that it is free from the protection of copyright law.  In other words, this would mean that anyone is free to copy, change, modify, and “repurpose” and eventually sell an item obtained from the public domain that they have transformed into a creative product of their own – known as a “derivative” product.

This is where entrepreneurship comes in!

By using the Public Domain and discovering and locating works and then changing them yourself into your own newly created “derivative” product, you can now use them to grow or build a very profitable business.

The Public Domain is a great resource for content for a virtually limitless category of usages and applications.  It is definitely worth looking into and I will have more on the topic of Public Domain next time.

Go visit these 2 websites – Public Domain Books Online at www.pdbooksonline.com and Public Domain Photos at www.public-domain-photos.com.

NOTE If you think you have found a book, a photograph, or anything else you believe to be in the Public Domain, you must be sure to check its status to be certain.  One rule is – anything published (in the U.S.) before 1923 is safely in the Public Domain. There are more details, however, to be aware of so that you avoid any trouble with copyright law issues.

Till next time,

Jackie