Works in the Public Domain

If it's in public domain, it's free game.

photon said:

If it's in public domain, it's free game.

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I wouldn't be so sure...


HERE is an old thread where we discussed this very matter. Check it out.

"public domain works can be freely used for derivative works without permission. Artworks that are public domain may also be reproduced photographically or artistically or used as the basis of new, interpretive works."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain

You just have to make sure the whole thing is actually in public domain (for example the screenwriter might have a valid copyright on the script of a movie). Also copyright status of a work may vary between countries.

I'm not a lawyer, nor do I play one on tv.

Exactly. It's not as simple as public domain = fair game. There's a lot of grey areas when it comes to copyright and the public domain.

For a good example, take a look at the recent issue regarding Sherlock Holmes. The character is public domain, along with a number of the stories. But certain element from the newer books are still protected, so you need to be very careful about what you do.

If you base anything on something NOT in the public domain, e.g. a new movie based on PD works, then it's obviously not PD and likely copyrighted. The recent Romeo and Juliette with DiCaprio is a good example. That's copyrighted, but you can still use all the words that were used.

If you go to the actual PD work, you can do anything you want with it.

PhantomScreenwriter said:

This reason for this thread is two-fold:

1. What is the consensus on taking a work that's Public Domain and creating your own version of the source material whether it's an adaptation under the same genre as the source material or a different genre?
   
2. Has anyone here ever created a work based off of anything classified as being in the Public Domain?

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I've had a lot of success in the public domain through music. Four or five of my songs on the album before last that I did were public domain poems and traditional songs that I reworked entirely - and that's really what the essence of folk music is... a lot of it has already been written, and it's our job to continue to update it and make it relevant! I had a lot of fun especially with modernizing the lyrics of public domain pieces, and rewriting and adding my own lyrics. I had one song that was originally written in the late 1800's that I turned into a bit of a rock n' roll song, which was quite a treat.

As an example, I did a very different take on the old traditional cowboy ballad 'Streets of Laredo.' A very commonly adapted song, but since the original traditional lyrics are within the public domain, I was able to pull those and create a fresh and unique take on the song.