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The Public Domain Information Project

Welcome to PD Info
If you're looking for information on using public domain music, this is the place to start your search. The quick rule of thumb is that music or lyrics written and published in the United States in 1922 or earlier are public domain in the USA. It is our goal to teach you how to understand and fully respect legal copyright protection, yet identify and freely use music that is truly in the public domain.

Since 1986, The Public Domain Information Project has been providing information and resources for identifying public domain materials.  Information on this site deals exclusively with music and lyrics where copyright protection has expired.  Works in the public domain due to litigation, idiosyncrasies of the copyright law, or other reasons should be used only with the advice of an attorney.   PD Info also provides a list of musical titles and authors which are believed to be among the authentic body of public domain materials that belong to all of us. We offer information that makes it possible for interested individuals to do their own dependable public domain research.

This site deals with Public Domain music and lyrics for the United States of America only. Information on this web site about international copyright law is extremely limited and should not be used to determine PD status outside the US.  Also do NOT use the information on this web site to attempt to identify PD books, art, software, or other intellectual property.

BE CAREFUL . . . You must understand how to search and identify what is in the Public Domain.  If you are going to use PD music commercially it is imperative that you have an attorney or rights clearance company verify your research if you have any uncertainties whatsoever about the public domain status of the works you plan to use.  If you do not obtain legitimate documentation BEFORE you use a song--even if it is truly Public Domain--you may end up in quite expensive hot water. So learn the rules and enjoy your search. There are centuries of musical grand jewels that are yours to use--just for doing careful research.

About PD Info
The Public Domain Information Project was started in 1986 by Marji Hazen of Ashland, Ohio.   Marji was particularly interested in folk music and began making a list of public domain folk songs.  Over the years, the list expanded to include any PD music and Marji collected nearly 10,000 PD songs from libraries, used book stores, folk publications, and just about any other published source imaginable.

After the GATT Treaty and 1998 Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act added new complexities to PD research,  Marji took the PD Info web site off of the web while she looked for a new webmaster.  In early 1999 Haven Sound agreed to take over PD Info and keep the Public Domain Information Project alive and growing.  Haven Sound is affiliated with a recording studio and audio post facility that works with young musicians and provides music and sound for independent film and video.  Haven Sound's path crossed Marji's while looking for public domain music to use for independent film sound tracks with no budget for music. 

From its beginning, the goal of the Public Domain Information Project has been a sincere desire to fully respect legal copyright protection, yet make music that is truly public domain freely available to the public.   We welcome your comments, suggestions, and PD music needs.  We will frequently update this web site based on your input and questions.   If you find errors either in content or web programming, please let us know and we will attempt to correct them as soon as possible.

E-Mail:    mail@pdinfo.com
Telephone: 770-993-8074

If your project needs music, The Public Domain Information Project welcomes you.

• Use of information on this site is at the user's risk.  We have made great efforts to make information on this site accurate.  However, Haven Sound, Inc. accepts no liability for errors or misuse wherever they occur or whatever the circumstances.
• Material on this site may be printed by individuals for their personal use only.  PD Info is on the web to be used, but not abused.  No material on this web site may be reprinted, distributed, published, or sold without the express written consent of Haven Sound, Inc.
• This web site is not maintained by an attorney or anyone with legal training.  It is simply a sharing of PD music research methods and experiences of musicians and sound engineers with low budget projects where music royalties just were not affordable.  Use of this site is no substitute for legal advice.
• We highly recommend that you have any public domain research verified by an attorney or rights clearance organization. Even though you can be reasonably certain that you have properly identified PD music or lyrics, any error can be quite expensive.
• Do not use information on this site to attempt to identify public domain books, art, software, or other intellectual property.  Copyright laws and practices vary greatly among different types of intellectual property.  Information on this site is limited to works of music and lyrics.

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