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One of the easiest places to find authoritative public domain content is ... your local used bookstore or library!

True -- virtually everything contained in the books you'll find at these locations were protected by copyright. But ... it's also true that many of these copyrights have expired -- making the contents of those volumes completely public domain.

US copyright law has gone through several iterations -- but the two things you need to remember are "75 years from copyright date" and "Sonny Bono"!

The copyright law originally stated that a copyright would last for 75 years. Thus, if a book were copyrighted in 1900, the copyright would expire in 1975. If a book were published in 1920, the copyright would expire in 1995. If a book were copyrighted in 1922, the copyright would expire in 1997. But ... if a book was copyrighted in 1923 or later, then things take on a whole new slant ... courtesy of then-Congressman Sonny Bono.

You see, a particular item was originally copyrighted in 1923. It's copyright was due to expire in 1998 -- sending this item into the public domain. This is normally not a problem -- truthfully, most people don't care about things copyrighted so far back. Expiring the copyright can actually grant these works new life in the public domain.

In this case, though, the item due to expire was a mouse -- Mickey Mouse!

Disney was understandably very concerned about their flagship icon becoming available to anyone in the public domain. Congressman Sonny Bono introduced legislation to extend copyright protection for an additional 20 years. This legislation passed in 1998 -- but only applied to items that were not yet in the public domain. Thus, an item copyrighted in 1992 was public domain after 75 years -- but anything copyrighted in or after 1923 was protected for 95 years.

So -- to play it perfectly safe and legal -- if the copyright date on a published work is 1922 or earlier, the item is now in the public domain and may be freely used (but not necessarily re-copyrighted and sold). If the copyright date is 1923 or later, it's best to leave it alone till at least the year 2018!

So what good is a book published and copyrighted prior to 1923? Well, if it's a book of sheet music -- or a book of classic poetry, literature, or theater -- or a book of formula, travel, or ... well, you get the idea. Some things become dated -- but some things are just as current today as they were when they were originally published.

This doesn't mean you can find a book by Mark Twain in the bookstore and freely copy and distribute it. You'll likely find the copyright on that published work is fairly current. However, if you find an old version of the same book published and copyrighted prior to 1923, then you can safely use it!

The best places to spot these treasures -- try your local public library, used bookstores, or estate sales.

Joey Robichaux maintains the Free Sheet Music Downloads website at http://www.freesheetmusic.net. This directory is one of the oldest free sheet music resources on the internet and features public domain sheet music.

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Your Content for Nothing and Your Clicks for Free

By David Westbrook 

The first thing my business consultant (read brother-in-law) asked me, when I told him that I wanted to build a website and put AdSense on it was, “Do you want to build a site to help people or to make money?” After thinking about it for a while I couldn’t imagine why I shouldn’t do both. Why not a website that helps people and generates money for me? My consultant looked at me like I had taken one too many falls off my bike, which he knew I road primarily to save on the cost of gas, but he proceeded forward.

“Okay, well what will your site be on?” He encouraged me to think about the things in which I was an expert. That wasn’t too tough.

I’ve spent five years helping people in crisis find drug addiction treatment. “How about if I help people understand drug addiction treatment.” Now he was sure I had taken too many falls, and that they had all been while riding without a helmet. More out of pity than duty, he showed me how to use Overture’s bid tool. We put in drug addiction treatment and found that the top bid was for $100.00 “www.customtreatmentprograms.com (Advertiser's Max Bid: $100.00)”. My consultant’s mouth dropped to the floor. “Is that good?” I asked. He just shook his head, probably wondering why his sister had ever married such a dope.

I quickly learned that the challenge was going to be content. I could only write so much of it myself, and when he told me that I needed to try and build up to 500 pages - I almost lost interest. He explained about free articles and showed me where to find them, but there was hardly anything related to the subject in the archives. He suggested that I write what I could and consider getting some professional help. Of course, he explained that everything I paid for meant less net profit.

My first attempt at buying articles was a disaster. I found a freelance site and solicited bids. I negotiated $115.00 for ten and thought I was doing great. I paid forty percent up-front figuring that it would help provide motivation for the writer to do my work ahead of others. When the first four articles came in there was something suspicious. I found unique lines in each and googled them, they were all stolen off the net. After spending hours making sure that I could get my money back, I contemplated giving up.

But then I had an idea. Frequently, when I needed to learn something about the latest drug I got it from the government. That’s when the two sweetest words in my vocabulary became “public domain”. I decided I would collect the best and most important information on drugs and drug addiction and build content rich websites. For a case study of how great this can work check out www.addictionsresources or www.alcoholismresources I have written some of the content, but more than 85% of it is public domain.

Not all of the public domain material turned out to be AdSense worthy. That is, not all of it had content that allowed Google to match appropriate ads and I so some pages were being served public service announcements. Some still are, and looking at the site will help you see what has worked and what hasn’t.

Can this strategy work for other high paying key words? Consider these high paying key words and keyword terms: “Home loan” there are 3,940,000 pages in an advanced Google government search; “Asbestos cancer” 63,900 pages and mesothelioma 767,000 pages.

Remember it’s good form to credit your source even when it comes from the public domain. Happy mining.

© 2005, David Westbrook

David Westbrook is a freelance writer and the creator of http://www.allthingsadsense.com where you will find the best information on this and other afiliate programs you can contact David at http://www.recoveryresources@gmail.com