Welcome to the Public Domain Treasure Hunter Blog.

If you are new to the concept of Public Domain, you’re in the right place!

Don’t worry, this won’t take long, we’ll just cover what the Public Domain is and what the obvious advantages are of using Public Domain works within your online business (and yes, there are a few definitions as well).

Exploring the Public Domain

Now before I get into the whole ‘definition’ phase, let me tell you straight off what you should know before anything else…

The Public Domain is a GOLD MINE.

It is a wonderful resource for instant content – Whether you are looking to add to your regular online business or want to start a new one, you can use Public Domain works to generate whatever content you need.

• Imagine saving the time required to write your own e-book or 100 articles!
• Imagine saving the money you pay to ghostwriters!

Interested?

Here’s what the Public Domain is:

The Public Domain refers to that huge treasure chest of published or unpublished ‘works’ that are not protected by U.S. or International copyright law.

Since the copyright law forbids legal commercial use, the Public Domain (which contains everything that is not governed by copyright laws) is free for you to use in any commercial setting, without fear of lawsuits or the need for giving credit or reference.

So basically you are free to use this work for your own benefit!

There are two main aspects of the Public Domain:

• What forms the public domain?
• How can we profit from the public domain?

Let’s look at them one by one.

What forms the public domain?

• All generic information such as facts, figures, scientific knowledge (but not inventions), mathematical formulas, ideas, etc.
• All publications by the U.S. government and its agents.
• Previously copyrighted works that have passed into the public domain due to expired copyright or other reasons (the biggest goldmine in my opinion).
• Work that is placed into the public domain by its owners.

Most of the Public Domain that we will be looking at is the second and third categories (government publications and previously-copyrighted works) because you can use this works directly – no need to create your own products or content!

How can we profit from the public domain?

This is where it gets interesting. Usually, if you get an idea from a product, or like a book and think about writing something similar, you know that you can’t just copy the product or book directly. That would get you a serious lawsuit for copyright violation.

On the other hand, Public Domain works are FREE for your use. You can republish them as is, although you might want to make a few changes like adding in your own information, editing layout and packaging, etc. Or if you want, you can use the Public Domain work to create your own derivative work.

Examples of Public Domain Works

All copyrighted works that were published before 1923.

That may seem unimportant, until you realize that while today there is a staggering amount of books and other works published and copyrighted each year, when we talk about the Public Domain we are literally talking about centuries of published work! And most of this is extremely relevant to today’s world.

For example, there are strong niche followings for these areas:

• Self-improvement
• Making more money
• Art
• Classic movies
• Fiction
• All sorts of hobbies
• History

And much more!

For any one of these niches you can find at least a dozen, profitable business ideas. And with the Public Domain, it becomes a snap to take the information you require, re-package it, edit it if necessary and voila – you have built the backbone of your online business (content) in no time at all.

Thoughts

A business is either a service or a product. And as such, there is a certain level of quality that you must adhere to in order to be successful. It is also important to build a degree of trust, and in the long run that only comes with your customers believing that you can over-deliver.

Public Domain Treasure Hunter is all about helping you over-deliver in your business. By teaching you how to use Public Domain works to provide essential content for your business (whether you sell it as a product or use it to support any services you provide), it will lead you to consistently jump-start your business ideas by giving them shape through the power of the Public Domain.

In my next post, we’ll talk about how you can create instant profits out of the Public Domain.

If you’re new to the Public Domain and can’t wait to get started creating your own new line of profitable products using copyright-free Public Domain material, you’ll find no better resource than “The Guide To Public Domain Profits”.

Until next time,

l

About the Author:

Logan Andrew is an online entrepreneur, information publisher, and author that has been using Public Domain material to create profitable products and businesses since 2001. He is also co-author of "The Public Domain Treasure Hunter's Survival Kit" available here. For more info Logan, click here.