Dear Reader,
Welcome aboard the fifth issue of “Public Domain Treasure Hunter Magazine“, the only digital magazine exploring ingeniously creative and outrageously lucrative ways to profit from the public domain! This magazine is dedicated to exploring unique and little known ways to repackage and republish public domain material for fun and profit.
Have you ever stopped to consider the sheer amount of newspapers published worldwide in the last few centuries? Even in the U.S. alone the number is huge!
There were millions of newspapers published before 1923 and every one of them is in the public domain. Millions more were published in the U.S. between 1923 and 1963 with out timely copyright renewal.
Imagine this – a daily newspaper published in the U.S. between 1923-1963 would have its very first issue come up for copyright renewal 28 years later right?
The second daily issue would come up for renewal the day after that and so on and so on. Issues would be coming up for renewal every single day for the entire remaining run of the paper (at least until 1963 anyway).
The newspaper would have to have a dedicated full-time staff at the copyright office just to keep track of all the renewals and make sure every issue was renewed on time! Even keeping up with renewals for weekly or monthly papers would be extremely difficult to manage.
Also, it was common for newspaper publishers to believe that their papers didn’t have any commercial value after 28 years had passed.
The time, cost, and hassle involved with renewing combined with the perceived lack of commercial value, are the two main reasons why not many of the millions of newspapers published in the U.S. between 1923-1963 were renewed.
This is great news for us because it leaves behind a massive stockpile of newspaper content in the public domain for us to dive into and legally use as content for our own projects!
In this issue of “Public Domain Treasure Hunter Magazine”, we’re going to be discussing how and why you should be using public domain newspapers in your publishing business as a rich source of practically never ending content.
Here’s what’s in store for you in this issue…
- What Good Are Old Public Domain Newspapers Anyway?
- So What Can I Do With Old Public Domain Newspapers?
- Some Things To Watch Out For When Using Public Domain Newspapers As Content…
- What’s Public Domain? You Know The Drill…
- How To Find Tons Of Public Domain Newspapers Online…
This special double-sized issue is our little Christmas gift to you. We sincerely hope that you enjoy it and that you are able to take what you learn here and start utilizing Public Domain Newspaper content to enhance your own product creations.
From our families to yours, we wish you a warm and joyful Christmas holiday!
You’ll find this issue of Public Domain Treasure Hunter Magazine available for download in the PDTH Downnload Library.
Warmly,
Editor, “Public Domain Treasure Hunter Magazine”
About The Author:
 Debra Conrad is an online entrepreneur, information publisher, and author that has been using Public Domain material to create profitable products and businesses since 2007. She is also co-author of "The Public Domain Treasure Hunter's Survival Kit" available here. For more info Debra, click here. |
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow! What a Christmas present! Thank you Logan & Debra!
I have watched your site grow and it has taken off beautifully! Both of you really come together to deliver GREAT value to us loyal readers
I have found tons of interesting info from old newspapers to use on a few of my sites. It is truly amazing all of the neat things that can be found in them – whether you’re into old cars, history, projects, comics – whatever it is – you’re bound to find something of interest.
Be fore-warned – it is almost as easy to get lost flipping through virtual newspapers as it is to get lost surfing the web
Please give quick thoughts on Newspaper and Magazine copyrights, how long they last, & if newspaper and magazine owners of yesteryear are normally punctillious on renewing copyrights
Many Tks
It’s great to hear from you and thank you for writing. Also thanks for the great question!
Magazines and Newspapers in the public domain – this is an absolute goldmine, no question. There are millions of newspapers and magazines in the public domain and yes, copyright renewals were often NOT made. With magazines and newspapers from the U.S. especially, the vast majority of titles were not renewed in their 28th year after publication. And remember, being based in the U.K., the Rule of the Shorter Term will work to your advantage in most cases.
Dear Debra
I found your video on Public Domain Magazines most interesting. My question is: does this same principle extend to newspapers? Recently I discovered the Archive section of the New York Times website and am blown away by the amount of material they have on record, going all the way back to the 1850′s. There is just such a wealth of rich material in there – you could use it in SO many ways, the mind boggles.
I want so much to believe this is all in the public domain prior to a certain date, but it seems too good to be true. I’m thinking maybe newspaper copyright works differently than magazines. What can you tell me about that? You mention 1964 for magazines – is there a similar cutoff point for newspaper content?
Looking forward to your reply – keep up the awesome work!
Ken Williams
London, UK
Hi Ken,
Thanks for the comment, it’s very much appreciated.
As far as Public Domain newspapers are concerned, for more detailed information regarding public domain newspapers, be sure to download and read the above issue of PDTH Magazine.
Thanks Ken!
Logan Andrew
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