CC Licenses and the Public Domain

The public domain is the realm into which all copyright materials eventually end up once their copyright terms expire. It is the state of not being copyrighted.

Creators and users can dedicate works to the public domain and mark existing works as belonging to the public domain. Learn more below.

The CC0 mark can be applied to works that the creator would like to dedicate to the public domain. It indicates the world that the creator has not reserved any rights and is waiving their rights as a creator.

The Creative Commons Public Domain Mark can be applied to works that are believed to be in the public domain. It indicates no known copyright. It cannot be applied to copyrighted works and it should not be applied to works that are still in copyright in other jurisdictions.