I have developed a new kind of search engine that searches databases
that are built with an editor. I am looking for web sites that contain
collections that are copyright free and can be used without
permission. Sites that contain free sources of the following would be
useful:

Images
History
Novels
Animals
Facts
Puzzles
Music
Crime
Computers
(etc)

An example of a site that I like is the CIA World Fact Book at
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/af.html

This site contains public domain information that can be reused
without permission. I am only interested in sites of this type.

Hello Goofy166,

Following are web sites that contain copyright free collections.


The number one web site for you should be Ibiblio:

Ibiblio - The Public's Library and Digital Archive
http://www.ibiblio.org

And this one is also of great use:

Wikipedia - Public domain resources
http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Public_domain_resources


And here are works from the more specific categories you requested:


------------------ Images

WebMuseum Paris - Famous Artworks exhibition
http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/

This site covers different styles of paintings, from Gothic,
Renaissance, Baroque, Classicism, Impressionism, to the 20th Century.
Also included Japanese Art and Architecture. The images come along
with descriptive texts and thumbnails.


Web Gallery of Art
http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/

    Quick Index (A-Z)
    http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/art/index.html

"The Web Gallery of Art is a virtual museum and searchable database of
European painting and sculpture of the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque
periods (1150-1800), currently containing over 11,000 reproductions.
Commentaries on pictures, biographies of artists are available. Guided
tours, free postcard and other services are provided for the
visitors."


Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/asp/start.asp?language=uk

    Artist Index (A-Z)
    http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/asp/framuk.asp?name=collectie3

Click on the letter and choose an artist at this Dutch site. The works
will show in the top with textual information below. Clicking on a
thumbnail brings up the painting, and then you can click "Zoom" for a
higher resolution version that will pop up in a new window.


CGFA - A Virtual Art Museum
http://cgfa.sunsite.dk/

    Artist Index (A-Z)
    http://cgfa.sunsite.dk/fineart.htm#letters


Copyright-Free Photo Archive: Public Domain Photos and Images
http://gimp-savvy.com/PHOTO-ARCHIVE/

"The photo archive at Gimp-Savvy.com has more than 27,000 free photos
and images, consisting of over 2.5 Gbytes of data."


Images in the Public Domain
http://www.sru.edu/depts/cisba/compsci/dailey/public/public_domain.htm

"The U.S. Copyright Office's circular entitled Copyright Basics and
particularly the section on How long copyright protection endures,
explain why these images came to belong to the public. In a nutshell,
works published prior to 1978 were protected for a maximum of 75
years."

The image directory here includes: Machines, Insects, Mammals,
Mollusks, Reptiles, and Agriculture.


This was just a selection; for a much more complete list of resources,
please visit Wikipedia:

Wikipedia - Public domain image resources
http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain_image_resources


----------- History

The top web site in this category is this official USA government web
site:

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
http://www.archives.gov/welcome/index.html

"NARA, an independent Federal agency, is America's national
recordkeeper.

Our mission is to ensure ready access to the essential evidence that
documents the rights of American citizens, the actions of Federal
officials, and the national experience."

Important historical works, such as texts, photos, paintings,
illustrations, are part of this site.


Images of American Political History - Index
http://teachpol.tcnj.edu/amer_pol_hist/_browse.htm

"A collection of over 500 public domain images of American Political
History."


British History Historical Public Domain Documents
http://britishhistory.about.com/cs/publicdomaindocs/


----------- Novels

The Project Gutenberg is the definite archive of Public Domain novels,
featuring 6267 texts:

Project Gutenberg
http://promo.net/pg/

    Search
    http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/cgi-bin/sdb/t9.cgi/

    Browse
    http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/cgi-bin/sdb/cat.cgi/cat.cgi

"Project Gutenberg is the Internet's oldest producer of FREE
electronic books (eBooks or eTexts)."


----------- Animals


Again, this one:

Copyright-Free Photo Archive: Public Domain Photos and Images
http://gimp-savvy.com/PHOTO-ARCHIVE/

"... Wildlife, _Animals_, Plants, Environments ..."



----------- Facts


U.S. Census Bureau
http://www.census.gov/

"... Has an enormous range of facts and figures which we will find
helpful in fleshing out articles about cities and states."


USGS Geographic Names Information System
http://www.usgs.gov/

"... almost 2 million physical and cultural geographic features within
the United States"

The 1911 Edition Encyclopedia
http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/

"The best encyclopedia ever written was published over 90 years ago!
And now you can find right here on the web! This 1911 encyclopedia is
filled with historical information that is still relevant today.

It fills 29 volumes and contains over 44 million words. The articles
are written by more than 1500 authors within their various fields of
expertise. As a research tool, this 1911 encyclopedia edition is
unparalleled-- even today."


Also see:

Public Domain Databases in the Sciences
http://www.csudh.edu/oliver/pubdomdb.htm


----------- Puzzles

Brain Food
http://rinkworks.com/brainfood/

With Logic Puzzles, Word Puzzles, Lateral Thinking Puzzles, Tricky
Puzzles, Word Boxes, Number Puzzles, and Logi-Number Puzzles.


----------- Music

PD Info - Public Domain Music (A-Z)
http://www.pdinfo.com/list.htm

"A reference site to help identify public domain songs and public
domain music"


The Choral Public Domain Library
http://www.cpdl.org/

"(...) the largest website devoted exclusively to free choral sheet
music. Begun in December 1998, the site has over 200 contributors and
4,300 scores"


And again, we can go to Ibiblio:

Mutopia Project
http://www.ibiblio.org/mutopia/

"All music in the Mutopia Project is free to download, print out,
perform and distribute. There are now 274 pieces of music available!"

The Project Gutenberg Music Web Site  
http://www.ibiblio.org/gutenberg/music/


----------- Crime

FBI, CIA and NSA are to be found here, however not everything found on
the sites is necessarily in the public domain:

CIA - Central Intelligence Agency
http://www.cia.gov

FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation
http://www.fbi.gov/

NSA - The National Security Agency
http://www.nsa.gov


On a related note, most of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's ("Sherlock
Holmes") work is in the public domain. You can access it via the
Project Gutenberg already listed:

Project Gutenberg
http://promo.net/pg/


----------- Computers

The following sites list public domain software:

Freeware Home
http://www.freewarehome.com/

Freeware Files
http://www.freewarefiles.com/

Freeware Web
http://www.freewareweb.com/

CNet Download.com - Shareware and Freeware
http://download.com.com

-----------


All the works collected on above sites (unless otherwise noted) are
believed to be, but not guaranteed to be, in the public domain -- laws
can change, and additionally may differ from country to country.
Please read the site's copyright information if in doubt.
To know wether or not something is copyright free, the following page
brings it straight to the point:

When Works Pass Into the Public Domain (by Lolly Gasaway, University
of North Carolina)
http://www.unc.edu/~unclng/public-d.htm

And for additional, more detailed information, I suggest to you this
book:

The Public Domain: How to Find Copyright-Free Writings, Music, Art &
More (by Attorney Stephen Fishman)
http://www.nolo.com/lawstore/products/product.cfm/objectID/CF0946AF-06EA-46EF-A2FC0F9F99DB505D/sampleChapter/3


I hope this helps!


Search terms:
public domain paintings
public domain history
public domain animals
public domain puzzles
(...)

---

Request for Answer Clarification by goofy166-ga on 13 Apr 2003 12:20 PDT

This answer is nice and complete BUT the problem is that many of the
places you site are only copyright free if you check and find out if
they are copyright free. In otherwords they say they are free of
copyrights but to know for sure they say you must check the source. I
was hoping to get a list of truely copyright free sites so I don't
have to check each one. For example:

Images in the Public Domain 
http://www.sru.edu/depts/cisba/compsci/dailey/public/public_domain.htm
 
"The U.S. Copyright Office's circular entitled Copyright Basics and
particularly the section on How long copyright protection endures,
explain why these images came to belong to the public. In a nutshell,
works published prior to 1978 were protected for a maximum of 75
years."

Its pretty much impossible for anyone to make a claim of ownership on
these since they are pre 1978 and in the public domain. Can you cull
your list to just those that fit my requirements?

---

Clarification of Answer by j_philipp-ga on 13 Apr 2003 22:16 PDT

Hello Goofy166,

The works on the sites listed above are indeed copyright-free. E.g.
the novels from the Project Gutenberg, or the "Images in the Public
Domain" site, and the other resources listed.

However, I would exclude the following sites if you are looking for
sites featuring _exclusively_ copyright-free works:

-- Brain Food (Puzzles)
-- Freeware Sites (Software)
-- CIA/ NSA/ FBI Sites (Crime)


Hope this clarifies!

---

Clarification of Answer by j_philipp-ga on 13 Apr 2003 22:21 PDT

And to clarify the standard disclaimer, you will find that on most
every public domain collection site, e.g. "Check with local law" and
so on. (One must add that laws differ from country to country and from
time to time.) I would say the disclaimer should be treated as a
general security blanket for the site, and should not discourage you
to freely copy the information (Like the "Wet Floor" sign, it doesn't
mean you cannot walk there, it just means that if one in a million
persons walking there slips, he cannot sue as easily.)

Hope this helps.

?

I should think that any copyright free web site would have a
disclaimer that the material is copy write free in their opinion as
someone may claim they have a copyright on any item, and the court
might agree after the evidence was presented.   Neil

Yes you point out a major issue with so called copyright free sites,
they pass the buck and say its up to you to know for sure. I have
asked the researcher if they would trim there list to just those that
are truely free.