Education · 2026-04-23 · Reading time ~ 11 min

Public domain, explained: copyright, free use, and the literary commons

What 'public domain' actually means, how rules differ across countries, what you can and can't do with public-domain works, and why Pagera operates strictly in this space.

Pagera Editorial

"Public domain" is a term everyone has heard and few define precisely. In Korean law it's called "저작권 만료 저작물" — works whose copyright has expired. Internationally it's "public domain." This post explains when a book enters it, what you can do with it, and why Pagera operates only in this zone.

Definition

A work is in the public domain when its copyright has expired or its author explicitly waived rights. Copyright grants exclusive rights for a limited time, not forever. After that time the work moves into a state of "free for anyone to use," which is what we call public domain. Once public domain, a work can be copied, distributed, translated, and adapted by anyone.

Terms differ by country

The single most-confused point. A book can be public domain in the US but still under copyright in Korea, or vice versa. 2026 base rules for major jurisdictions:

Country	Term	Notes
Korea	Life + 70 years	Before 2013 revision: life + 50 years
United States	Pre-1929 publications already PD; otherwise life + 70 or 95 from publication	Corporate works have separate rules
UK / EU	Life + 70 years	70 years for anonymous/corporate
Japan	Life + 70 (since 2018)	Some works still under earlier life + 50 rule
Australia / Canada	Transitioning 50 → 70	Complex transition rules

What entered the Korean public domain in 2026

Under Korean law in 2026, works by authors who died on or before 31 December 1955 become public domain (life + 70 with end-of-year rounding). Recent additions include:

Thomas Mann (Germany, d. 1955) — The Magic Mountain, Death in Venice, and more
Albert Einstein (Germany / US, d. 1955) — scientific writings
(Collaborative works use the last surviving author's date.)

Conversely: George Orwell (d. 1950) entered the Korean public domain in 2020. But beware — a specific translation may still be under copyright even when the original is not. Translators hold separate rights.

Where Pagera operates

Pagera only handles works whose original is in the public domain. Our two primary sources:

Project Gutenberg — ~76,000 English-language public-domain works under US rules
Aozora Bunko — ~17,000 Japanese-language public-domain works under Japanese rules

Both sources only accept works that have cleared strict legal verification. Pagera adds AI translation on top and releases the translations under CC0 / Public Domain Mark, so Pagera's translations are also freely usable by anyone.

Allowed versus careful

Freely allowed

Full or partial reproduction, printing, distribution
Commercial use (sale, ad-supported distribution)
Translation, editing, summarisation, adaptation (film, comic, etc.)
Conversion to e-book or audiobook, redistribution
Classroom, publishing, public-education use

Watch out for

Moral rights: even after copyright expires, uses that damage the author's honour or identity can be challenged (Korean Copyright Act §14).
Translator rights: the original may be public domain while a specific translation is still under copyright for life + 70 of the translator.
Edition differences: scholarly editions, annotations, and illustrations are separately copyrighted works.
Cross-border variance: PD in one country, not in another — important for international services.

What the public domain gives society

Public domain is not "free stuff." It's cultural common ground. Shakespeare can be staged, Frankenstein can be drawn into comics, Alice can be AI-translated into any language — because of it. Copyright protects creators; the public domain protects future creators. Culture needs both.

Services like Pagera are only possible because of this design. We pay no licensing fees for Austen or Shakespeare, so our costs reduce to translation and operations. That's why an ad-supported model can sustain the service.

Verify for yourself

Korea Copyright Commission registry: cros.or.kr
Project Gutenberg copyright policy: gutenberg.org/policy/
Aozora Bunko submission rules: aozora.gr.jp
Creative Commons license chooser: creativecommons.org/licenses/

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