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=Public Domain=

What does public domain mean?
When something is copyrighted, the copyright runs out and is no longer in effect after a certain amount of time. After the copyright expires, the item is in public domain. This means that anyone can use this item for any purpose they want and it is no longer only usable by the author or creator.

How does something become public domain?
There are two ways in which something something can become public domain. The first is by default. Any copyrighted materials are automatically under public domain and usable by anyone.The second is through a copyright expiring after a certain length of time.

= = = = =How long does a copyright last?= The amount of time before a copyright expires depends on the type of media that was under copyright and when the work was created. In general, for anything produced between the years of 1923 through 1977, the work is under public domain 70 years after the authors death. For anything produced before 1923, it is already in public domain.

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