Press releases/Public domain day
DRAFT PRESS RELEASE
What do Howard Carter, discoverer of the famed tomb of King Tutankhamen, author Zane Grey, who penned the cowboy classic "Riders of the Purple Sage", and sexologist Havelock Ellis all share in common?
The answer is that they all died in 1939; New Year's Day 2010 sees all their works become free for any use as they enter the public domain.
Each year the opening of Public Records in Britain is a well-publicised event; the press pore over interesting items they could only speculate about before. There is a lesser-known addition to Britain's cultural commons; all authors and artists who died seventy years ago have their work freed of any copyright restrictions. In the Internet age, their works can now be used any way people can conceive. Text can be freely downloaded to e-book readers, a rising electronic item; and anyone can create audio versions.
Wikimedia UK anticipates January 1, "Public Domain Day", 2010 being a great year for additions to the Wikimedia digital Commons. The poetry of W. B. Yeats, the works of Sigmund Freud, and Arthur Rackham's classic children's book illustrations all enter the public domain. When copyright complexities no longer encumber, a work that has been a "sleeper" can become a new classic: this happened to "It's a Wonderful Life", the 1946 Frank Capra film that became a Christmas classic in the 1980s.
Wikimedia UK actively promotes the uploading of copyright-free text on Wikisource, a complementary site to Wikipedia. Audio recordings of public domain works may be added to the Wikimedia Commons site, and Wikimedia UK invites you to join us and help digitise and preserve our common cultural heritage. Make it available for everyone to share, build on, and simply enjoy.
EDITORS' NOTES
About Wikimedia UK:
Wikimedia UK is an independent organisation that supports free and open knowledge throughout the United Kingdom, including promoting and supporting the projects of the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation.
Contact details:
Andrew Turvey, Secretary, Wikimedia UK
- Email: secretary@wikimedia.org.uk
- Phone: +44 (0)7988 013 646