Creative Commons has announced its release of the Public Domain Mark (PDM) which will make it easier distinguish works that are free of known copyright. From the Creative Commons website:
“Our Public Domain Mark enables works that are no longer restricted by copyright to be marked as such in a standard and simple way, making them easily discoverable and available to others. Many cultural heritage institutions including museums, libraries and other curators are knowledgeable about the copyright status of paintings, books and manuscripts, photographs and other works in their collections, many of which are old and no longer under copyright. The Public Domain Mark operates as a tag or a label, allowing institutions like those as well as others with such knowledge to communicate that a work is no longer restricted by copyright and can be freely used by others.”
Europeana, Europe’s digital library, will be one of the first major adopters. For more information read the press release here.
