public domain
Enable an AI agent to assess evidence of public domain status and distinguish freedom from exclusive intellectual property rights from other restrictions on reuse.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
6 bundles · 11 layers · 18 findings · 28 questions
Public character and extent Establishes which physical place is being modelled and why it is considered public.
Meaning and public basis
Separates the intended physical meaning from other uses of public domain and records its evidential basis.
Basis for public character
Record the evidence supporting this place's inclusion and whether that evidence establishes designation, access or customary use.
- What does public domain mean for this registry entry, and does this place satisfy that meaning? definition
- Which records or observations support its public character, and what does each actually establish? provenance
Spatial inclusion and edges
Locates the public realm and distinguishes included spaces from adjoining or embedded exclusions.
Public domain boundary
Record the mapped extent, uncertain edges and internal areas with different access conditions.
- Where does the public domain begin and end at frontages, entrances, level changes and adjoining parcels? boundary
- Which internal areas are excluded or conditionally included, and what evidence supports those distinctions? provenance
Public access in practice Describes who can enter, when access is available and whether entry leads to usable routes.
Entry and availability
Records entrance conditions and temporal differences in public access.
Effective entry conditions
Record entry points, opening periods and conditions encountered by different users.
- Which entrances are usable at the assessment time, and what recurring or temporary closures affect them? measurement
- Which charges, eligibility conditions or screening practices limit who can enter? boundary
Inclusive route continuity
Assesses whether public access continues beyond the entrance for specified user needs.
Usable public routes
Record connected routes, barriers and usable alternatives between public entrances and destinations.
- Where do steps, gates, surface conditions, missing wayfinding or other barriers interrupt routes for the users being assessed? measurement
- Which alternative routes remain publicly usable, and do they introduce additional hours, charges or permission requirements? action
Shared use and occupation Captures how public activities coexist and how dedicated occupation changes the space available to others.
Activities and use conditions
Distinguishes observed activities from activities supported by evidenced use conditions.
Activity-specific use assessment
Record how a proposed activity relates to the place's documented conditions and other public uses.
- What evidence addresses passage, resting, gathering, play, expression or commerce in the part of the place concerned? provenance
- For the proposed activity, which conditions are satisfied and which permissions or interpretations remain unresolved? action
Exclusive and competing occupation
Tracks installations or activities that reserve space or displace other users.
Public-use displacement
Record the spatial and temporal effects of terraces, queues, events, works or other occupation.
- How much space and route width remain available during the occupation, and for how long? measurement
- Which public activities or users are displaced, and where does that effect extend beyond the occupied footprint? boundary
Stewardship and use authority Connects access control, maintenance and intervention decisions to evidenced responsible parties.
Responsibility and control
Separates ownership, operational stewardship and control over public use.
Responsible parties
Record the parties responsible for the relevant space and decision, including gaps or overlapping responsibilities.
- Which evidence identifies the owner, maintenance steward and access controller for each relevant part? provenance
- Who should receive a maintenance report, access challenge or request to occupy space, and is that responsibility verified? action
Restrictions and interventions
Assesses the stated basis and reach of measures that change public use.
Restriction applicability
Record a restriction or proposed intervention without assuming that its presence proves its authority.
- What source supports the restriction or intervention, who issued it, and is its current applicability verified? provenance
- To which locations, activities, users and periods does it apply? boundary
Public-use condition and change Assesses conditions that sustain public use and records changes that require reassessment.
Conditions supporting public use
Focuses physical assessment on effects on passage, staying and shared activities.
Public-use impairment
Record observed defects and environmental conditions with their specific effects on public use.
- Which observed surface defects, lighting failures, drainage problems or obstructions impair public use, and where? measurement
- Which affected uses require rerouting, further inspection or a report to the responsible steward? action
Access change and restoration
Compares successive states and checks whether promised public access has returned.
Change in public availability
Record changes in accessible extent, opening conditions and shared-use availability against a dated baseline.
- Since the last verified assessment, what has changed in public entrances, accessible area, hours or exclusive occupation? measurement
- What evidence is needed to confirm restoration after a temporary closure or to reassess a lasting reduction in public access? action
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Kinds and varieties
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of public domain this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Identifiers and schemes
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of public domain this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Standards and regulation
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of public domain this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of public domain this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Typical measurements
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of public domain this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of public domain this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of public domain this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of public domain this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Physical world and living systems
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- PHY
- Domain
- PHY.OBJ
- Other names and narrower kinds
- official text of a legislative, administrative or legal nature, copyrighted, dedicated to the public domain by copyright holder, public domain music, public domain in the People's Republic of China, Public domain in Mexico, state symbols and signs, national folklore, ideas, theories, concepts, discoveries and inventions, means of payment, simple facts, Asaokpuaja Health Centre, Obuda Ward Health Centre
What it is Filled
Public domain is the status of subject matter to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply in the relevant jurisdiction, because those rights have expired, never arose or were validly relinquished where the law permits.
In scope
- Identify the subject matter and exclusive intellectual property rights covered by a public domain claim.
- Assess evidence that relevant rights have expired, never arose or were validly relinquished.
- Account for jurisdiction and time when describing public domain status.
- Distinguish the status of underlying material from separate rights in translations, recordings and other contributions.
- Identify limits on reuse that public domain status does not resolve.
Out of scope
- Public land ownership and access are separate concepts.
- Detailed models of individual intellectual property rights remain separate subjects.
- Licensing terms for protected material are outside this model except where needed to distinguish licensed use from public domain status.
- Privacy, publicity and other restrictions require separate assessment where they affect reuse.
- Repository operations and the preservation of individual works are separate subjects.
Why it exists Filled
Enable an AI agent to assess evidence of public domain status and distinguish freedom from exclusive intellectual property rights from other restrictions on reuse.
Distinguishing features Filled
- Public availability or free access does not establish public domain status.
- Permission to reuse protected material under a licence does not itself place that material in the public domain.
- A public domain claim must identify the subject matter, relevant rights, jurisdiction and time.
- Public domain status of an underlying work does not automatically extend to separately protected contributions.
- Absence of exclusive intellectual property rights does not establish clearance of all other restrictions on reuse.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Treat public access, lack of a rights notice or free availability as proof of public domain status.
- Assume that public domain status is identical across jurisdictions.
- Ignore separate rights in translations, recordings or other contributions.
- Present public domain status as clearance of privacy, publicity or trademark restrictions.
Only with a human decision
- Resolving disputed or materially uncertain rights status for a consequential reuse decision requires qualified human review.
May
- Explain public domain status with its jurisdiction, relevant rights and supporting evidence.
- Identify material supported as public domain while stating unresolved restrictions or uncertainty.
- Distinguish public domain material from protected material available under a reuse licence.
Moral aspects Filled
- Public domain material supports access to knowledge, cultural participation and creative reuse.
- False claims of exclusive rights can improperly restrict public domain material.
- Lawful reuse can still raise concerns about attribution, cultural sensitivity, privacy and misleading representation.
Who is affected
- Creators and contributors can be affected by attribution and representation.
- Users and audiences rely on accurate statements of rights status.
- Cultural communities can be affected by the reuse of their heritage.
- Libraries, archives and educators support access to public domain material.
Owners Filled
Steward
No exclusive intellectual property owner controls public domain subject matter as such; custodians and users are responsible for accurate status records and responsible reuse.
Master systems
- Rights status records document supporting evidence and jurisdictional limits.
- Library and archive catalogues record provenance and rights information.
- Official intellectual property records support assessment where applicable.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q272458 - registry parent class
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.public-domain
- Wikidata: Q19652 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q19652)
Direct properties required Filled
- Public character basis: Recorded designation, documented access arrangement, customary use, observed access only, contested, unknown; multiple values possible
- Spatial extent: Mapped boundary with coordinate reference system; area in square metres where meaningful; boundary uncertainty recorded
- Ownership and control relationship: Place linked separately to evidenced owners, access controllers and stewards
- Access availability: Open, conditionally open, partly closed, temporarily closed, inaccessible, disputed, unknown; time and affected area recorded
- Conditions of entry: Recorded hours, charges, eligibility conditions, screening requirements and other restrictions; none evidenced or unknown
- Accessible route continuity: Continuous, interrupted, unavailable, unassessed; assessed separately for specified mobility and sensory needs
- Shared-use availability: Available, constrained, exclusively occupied, unavailable, unknown; activity, location and time recorded
- Restriction evidence: Restriction linked to its source, issuing party, spatial extent, effective period and verification status
Recognition not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
Public domain status is a legal condition that cannot be established from an object's visual appearance.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- Identify and map the place while flagging uncertain public-private edges.
- Assess whether a specified person can enter and traverse it at a specified time.
- Compare a proposed activity with evidenced use conditions and identify unresolved permission needs.
- Detect when barriers, exclusive occupation or deterioration reduce practical public use.
- Route maintenance reports or access enquiries to the evidenced responsible party.
- Reassess public accessibility after a closure, management change or physical intervention.
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Incorrectly treating protected material as public domain can lead to infringement claims and removal of distributed content.
- Assuming that public domain status is identical across countries can result in unauthorized reuse in another jurisdiction.
- Overlooking separate rights in translations, recordings or other contributions can make reuse unlawful even when an underlying work is public domain.
- Treating public domain status as clearance of privacy, publicity or trademark restrictions can expose people and organizations to additional claims.
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization, establishes copyright protection and minimum terms relevant to determining public domain status.
- Title 17 of the United States Code, enacted by the United States Congress, governs United States copyright protection, exclusions and duration.
Context of use required Filled
- In the intellectual property sense, public domain describes material for which relevant exclusive rights have expired, do not arise or have otherwise ceased to apply.
- It is encountered when assessing whether works, inventions or other material can be copied, adapted or reused without permission from an exclusive rights holder.
- Its scope depends on the jurisdiction and the particular rights being assessed.
Sources Filled
- public domain lands - Wex definition: lands or interests owned by the United States and administered by Interior through BLM; origin in state cessions; concentration in the eleven western public-land states plus Alaska; disposal under FLPMA planning.
- 43 U.S.C. § 1702 - Definitions (Federal Land Policy and Management Act) - Statutory definition of "public lands" as land and interests owned by the United States and administered by BLM, excluding the Outer Continental Shelf and lands held for Indians, Aleuts and Eskimos; also defines withdrawal.
- Public Land Statistics 2023 - Acquisition of about 1.8 billion acres of public domain (1781-1867); about 1.3 billion acres transferred out; BLM now administers about 244.4 million surface acres and about 712.9 million acres of federal subsurface mineral estate; glossary distinction between public-domain lands and acquired lands.
- The Federal Land Management Agencies - About 640 million acres of federal surface land (about 28% of the United States); BLM 244 million acres concentrated in twelve western states; FLPMA multiple-use and sustained-yield mandate.
- public domain (Q19652) - The Wikidata item attached to this English name is the copyright-status sense ("no exclusive intellectual property rights apply"); Getty AAT 300055611 scope note recorded there names both government land and unprotected publications.
- Public domain - The homonymous intellectual-property sense: works to which no exclusive IP rights apply because they expired, were waived, or never attached; Creative Commons Public Domain Mark as a label, not a licence.
- About CC0 - "No Rights Reserved" - CC0 as a waiver attempting to place an in-copyright work as nearly as possible into the copyright public domain; Public Domain Mark reserved for works already free of known copyright restrictions worldwide.
- Domaine public en droit public français - French public-law definition: immovable or movable property of a public person affected to direct public use or to a public service with indispensable fitting-out (CG3P arts. L. 2111-1 and L. 2112-1).
- Fiche 6 - Domaine (famille "domanialité") - Conseil d'État teaching note: public-domain property is inalienable and imprescriptible; natural versus artificial public domain; special maritime, fluvial, road, rail, aeronautical and radio-spectrum domains.
Open questions
- Does this registry entry mean the physical public realm, a jurisdiction-specific public landholding category, or copyright public domain despite its PHY / PHY.OBJ placement?
- What is the intended unit of modelling: an individual public place, a connected network of spaces, or an aggregate public estate?
- Which jurisdictions and authoritative records determine public character, access arrangements and powers to restrict use?
- Should privately owned publicly accessible spaces and spaces open only by customary tolerance be included, and under which explicit distinctions?
- Which accessibility criteria and observation intervals are needed to make public-use assessments dependable for the intended users?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q19652/spec.json