The Online Public Domain Myth:
Copyright and Intellectual Property

In the digital age, the sheer volume of information, images, videos and documents available online creates the impression that the internet is an open resource. Social media platforms, blogs, training platforms and file-sharing sites make it possible to access articles, photographs, research papers, PDFs, training courses and videos at the click of a button. For many users, this accessibility fosters the belief that anything found online is free to use, reproduce or redistribute without restriction. The assumption that availability equals freedom of use is a persistent myth that has led to widespread misuse of intellectual property and violations of copyright law.

Intellectual property (IP) is legally protected, and copyright remains one of the most important frameworks governing creative and informational works. This article examines the legal and ethical issues surrounding the misconception that online content is in the public domain, provides clarity about what “public domain” actually means in law, and outlines best practices for respecting copyright and intellectual property in the digital environment.

What is Intellectual Property?

Intellectual property is a legal concept that covers creations of the mind, including ideas, inventions, artistic expressions, written works and designs.
In the UK, intellectual property rights (IPRs) provide legal protection for these creations, ensuring that the people who produce original work retain control over its use and dissemination.

The four main categories of intellectual property in the UK are:

• Copyright: Protects original literary, artistic, musical and dramatic works, including books, reports, photos, videos, training materials, software and digital content.
• Trade marks: Protect brand names, logos and distinctive signs identifying goods or services.
• Patents: Protect technical inventions and processes.
• Design rights: Protect the shape, configuration or appearance of a product.

While each category has its own rules and limitations, copyright is most relevant to the discussion of online content. Under UK law, copyright arises automatically upon creation of a work. It does not require formal registration. This means that as soon as someone writes an article, takes a photograph, produces a training video or designs an online course, copyright protection exists by default.

Copyright under UK Law

Copyright in the United Kingdom is governed primarily by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988).
The Act defines copyright as a property right that subsists in various categories of original work, including:

• Literary works such as articles, books, reports, website copy / text, PDFs
• Artistic works such as photographs, drawings, graphics, images
• Musical works and sound recordings
• Films and broadcasts
• Typographical arrangements of published editions
• Software and databases

The author or creator of the work is generally the first owner of copyright, unless they have produced the work in the course of employment, in which case the employer usually holds the rights.

Copyright gives creators several exclusive rights, including:

• The right to copy the work.
• The right to issue copies to the public.
• The right to rent, lend, license or perform the work.
• The right to broadcast or make the work available online.
• The right to adapt the work.

Unless specific permissions are granted, only the copyright holder can authorise these uses. Infringing copyright can result in both civil liability, such as damages and injunctions, and criminal penalties.

Ideas are not Protected by Copyright

It is also important to understand that copyright protects the expression of ideas, not the ideas themselves. Under UK law, an idea in its abstract form cannot be copyrighted. Only once it is recorded or expressed in a tangible way does protection arise. For example, the general idea of writing a novel about a young wizard at school is not subject to copyright, but J.K. Rowling’s specific expression of that idea in the Harry Potter books is. Similarly, the concept of producing a training video on workplace safety is free for anyone to use, but the specific script, visuals and recorded footage created by one author are protected.

This distinction exists because copyright aims to encourage creativity without granting monopolies over themes, concepts or knowledge. If ideas themselves could be copyrighted, innovation and cultural development would be stifled.

The Myth of the “Public Domain” Online

One of the most common misconceptions about copyright is that anything accessible on the internet is in the “public domain”. In everyday speech, people often use the term “public domain” loosely to mean “publicly accessible”. However, in legal terms, the public domain has a precise meaning. Works in the public domain are those that are no longer protected by copyright, usually because copyright has expired, or were never eligible for copyright protection in the first place.

For example, a Shakespeare play is in the public domain because copyright protection expired centuries ago. By contrast, a modern English translation of a Shakespeare play produced in 2024 would be protected by copyright, even though the original text is not.

The fact that an article or image is freely available on the internet does not mean that it has entered the public domain. Accessibility does not equate to permission. A PDF report hosted on a government website, for instance, may be freely downloadable for personal use, but copyright restrictions may prevent redistribution, modification or commercial use without permission. Similarly, a photograph posted on social media remains the intellectual property of the photographer, even if it can be easily saved or shared.

What Counts as Public Domain in Law

Under UK law, how long does copyright protection generally last for:

• Literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works: 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the author dies.
• Films: 70 years after the death of the last of the principal director, screenplay author, dialogue author or composer.
• Sound recordings and broadcasts: 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the recording was made or first published.
• Typographical arrangements of published editions: 25 years from the end of the year of first publication.

Only once these terms expire does a work enter the public domain.

Works created by the UK government are also subject to special rules. Much is covered by Crown Copyright, which generally lasts 125 years from creation or 50 years from publication.

This makes clear that most material published online, whether in 2000 or in 2024, remains firmly under copyright protection.

Fair Dealing vs Fair Use: The UK Position

In the United States, the doctrine of “fair use” allows relatively broad exceptions for the use of copyrighted works without permission. In the UK, however, the equivalent concept is fair dealing, which is far narrower.

Fair dealing provisions in the CDPA 1988 permit limited use of copyrighted works without the author’s consent, but only in specific circumstances, such as:

• Private study or non-commercial research.
• Criticism, review or quotation with acknowledgement.
• Reporting of current events excluding photographs.
• Parody, caricature or pastiche.

These exceptions are tightly constrained, and courts interpret fair dealing strictly. Importantly, fair dealing does not allow wholesale copying or redistribution of works. For example, downloading an entire online training course and redistributing it to others would almost certainly be an infringement, even if it was for non-commercial purposes.

Use Case Examples

Articles and blog posts: Copying and pasting someone else’s article onto another website without permission is copyright infringement, even if you credit the author.
A fair dealing quotation must be proportionate and accompanied by acknowledgement.

Photographs: Photographs remain copyright-protected from the moment of creation. Taking an image from Google Images and using it in a commercial presentation without licence is a breach. S
tock image libraries make this clear by requiring payment for use.

Reports and PDFs: A government department may publish a report online, but unless it is explicitly licensed under an open licence such as Open Government Licence, redistribution is not automatically permitted.
Sharing the official link is fine. Re-uploading the document to another site without permission is not.

Training videos and online courses: Many online training providers sell access to their courses. Paying for access does not grant the right to copy, download or redistribute the content.
Sharing login details or re-uploading course files elsewhere infringes copyright.

Licensing and Permissions

• Creators may choose to grant specific permissions for the use of their works. These can take many forms:
• Commercial licences: Agreements that allow the paying party to use a work for defined purposes.
• Creative Commons licences: Standardised licences that allow varying levels of reuse, from attribution-only to share-alike or non-commercial conditions.
• Open Government Licence (OGL): A licence used by UK government departments to permit re-use of government-published data and documents.

However, unless a licence is explicitly provided, the default position under UK law is that copyright remains with the creator.

Linking vs Uploading

A common area of confusion involves the difference between linking to content and re-uploading it. With the copyright owner’s permission, it is generally acceptable to share a link to a document or file, for example, directing others to the official location of a PDF report on a government website. The content remains under the control of the copyright holder, and users access it in the way the owner intended.

What is not acceptable is downloading that file and then uploading it to another location, such as a different website, cloud storage or online group, without permission. Doing so creates an unauthorised copy and constitutes copyright infringement. Sharing the link preserves the original context and respects the author’s rights. Re-uploading does not.

The Role of Creative Commons and Open Licences

The rise of the Creative Commons (CC) movement has helped clarify some aspects of copyright online. Creative Commons licences allow creators to choose the terms on which their works may be shared and reused.
For example, a CC BY licence permits anyone to use a work for any purpose, provided they credit the creator, while a CC BY-NC licence allows non-commercial use only.

However, the presence of a Creative Commons licence should never be assumed. Unless content is clearly labelled with such a licence, it must be treated as fully copyright-protected.

Similarly, the UK government’s Open Government Licence (OGL) enables broad re-use of government data and documents, but even here, attribution is required and some categories of information, such as personal data, are excluded.

Consequences of Misuse

Using online content without permission can have serious consequences. Civil remedies available to copyright holders include:

• Injunctions to prevent further use.
• Damages or an account of profits gained through infringement.
• Orders for the delivery up or destruction of infringing copies.

In some cases, copyright infringement can also amount to a criminal offence, particularly where infringement is deliberate and on a commercial scale. Convictions can result in fines and imprisonment.

Beyond legal consequences, misuse of content can damage reputations. Academics, journalists, businesses and community groups all risk losing trust and credibility if they are found to be misusing others’ intellectual property.

Ethical Considerations: Respect for Creators

Beyond the legal framework, respecting copyright is also a matter of ethics. Creative works, whether a photograph, article or training video, represent the time, effort and expertise of their authors.
Treating online content as free for the taking undermines the work of creators and discourages the production of high-quality material.

Communities, educators and organisations should lead by example, ensuring that they model responsible use of online resources. This fosters a culture of respect for intellectual property and supports ongoing creativity.

The Digital Environment: Challenges of Enforcement

One of the challenges in the digital age is the sheer scale of infringement. With billions of pieces of content uploaded and shared daily, it is difficult for copyright holders to monitor and enforce their rights.
Automated takedown systems, such as those used by YouTube and other platforms, help but are imperfect.

However, the difficulty of enforcement does not negate the existence of rights. Just because someone “gets away with” reusing content without permission does not mean it is lawful.

Best Practice for Individuals, Educators, Businesses and Communities

To avoid falling into the trap of the public domain myth, the following best practices should be observed:

• Always assume content is protected unless explicitly stated otherwise.
• Seek permission from the creator or rights holder before reusing material.
• Use official links rather than re-uploading content.
• Check for open licences, such as Creative Commons or Open Government Licence.
• Attribute creators properly, even where permission is granted.
• Educate others in your organisation or community about the importance of copyright compliance.

The myth that content found online is free to use because it is “already in the public domain” is not only widespread but deeply misleading. In the UK, copyright law makes clear that most creative works remain protected for decades after creation, regardless of their online accessibility. Misunderstanding this distinction between availability and legality exposes individuals and organisations to legal and ethical risks.

Respecting copyright and intellectual property is not about restricting creativity but about safeguarding it.
By valuing the rights of creators, sharing content responsibly and following the principles of fair dealing, communities can foster a healthier, more sustainable digital culture. Linking to original sources rather than re-uploading, seeking permission and using open licences when available are all simple but vital steps.

In the end, the internet is a richer and more trustworthy environment when intellectual property is respected.
The myth of the public domain must give way to a clearer understanding. What is online is not automatically free, but with careful use and respect for copyright, it can be shared responsibly for the benefit of all.