According to UK Law, what defines whether or not something is 'in the
public domain' and therefore not subject to copyright?  Specifically
referring to an educational method, published by someone else, which I
want to improve on, amend, adapt and publish.  Bits of it have also been written
about by many, many other people over a long period of time.

Hello,

I found a company in the UK you might want to contact further to
confirm and perhaps receive more personalized directed advice from. It
is UK Copyright Service and from their website:

"The UK Copyright Service - Copyright Registration Centre for the UK

As independent witness agent, the UKCS registers original works by 
musicians, artists, designers, software providers, authors as well as
many other organisations and individuals. Providing proof of
originality, and protection against future intellectual property
rights infringement, claims and disputes."

At copyrightservice.co.uk I found the following information which
deals specifically with copyright law and public domain definition in
the UK:

"6. Duration of copyright 
The 1988 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act states the duration of
copyright as;

i. For literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works 
70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the last remaining
author of the work dies, or, if the work is of unknown authorship: 70
years from end of the calendar year in which the work was created, or
if made available to the public in that time, (by publication,
authorised performance, broadcast, exhibition, etc.), 70 years from
the end of the year that the work was first made available."

And from their FAQ page later:

"What happens when a copyright expires?
The work will fall into the public domain, making it available to
anyone wishing to use, copy or reproduce the work. This is how so many
companies can publish works by William Shakespeare, classical
composers etc."

So the long and the short of it is 70 years after a work is published,
and then it falls into public domain, which means it's free to be
copied, etc. Please note this covers ORIGINAL WORKS only, and not
introductions / translations / etc. that may have been published
later, for those, it's 70 years after the publication date of that
work. In case you want to read up on the similar laws in US, Project
Gutenberg is a website dedicated to scanning and digitally preserving
public domain works, and has written a page up about public domain
with mention to the UK supporting what I already stated above. You can
find their link at the bottom. Thanks!


Search Strategy:

"public domain" uk copyright law on google:
://www.google.com/search?q=%22public+domain%22+uk+copyright+law


Additional Links:

Copyright Law:
http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/law(01).htm

Common copyright questions:
http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/copyright_questions.htm

Project Gutenberg Public Domain and Copyright How To:
http://promo.net/pg/vol/pd.html


Thank you for the opportunity to answer your question, if you require
more information, please clarify the question, or if you find this
answer satisfactory, please feel free to rate it. Thank you!

skermit-ga