public domain

Noun

public domain (uncountable)

1. (also, attributive) The state of not being owned by anyone, and thus freely usable by everyone.
2. (also, attributive, specifically) The realm of intellectual property which is not or no longer protected by copyrights or patents, and thus over which no person can establish a proprietary interest.
   • As the copyright in this book has lapsed, it is now in the public domain.
   • Any regime applied to the public domain should ensure such free use. Yet, the ‘public domainness’ does not guarantee as such a freedom to access to the resources it contains. Access to a public domain work will depend on many factors.2011 March 4, Séverine Dusollier, “SCOPING STUDY ON COPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS AND THE PUBLIC DOMAIN”, in World Intellectual Property Organization
3. (also, attributive) The state of not or no longer being confidential or secret.
   • Very little information about the treaty is in the public domain.
4. (US, especially) Land regarded as owned by the public, and not subject to a land patent or other forms of private ownership (for example, unowned prairie in the southwestern and western United States).