CC licenses allow creators to keep their copyright while granting the public permission to use their works under clearly defined terms.

Our public domain tools enable creators and rightsholders to go one step further by dedicating their works to the public domain, making them free for anyone to use, for any purpose, without restriction. These tools also help identify and label works that are already free of known copyright restrictions, making them easier to discover and reuse worldwide.

Why a Public Domain Dedication Matters

In most parts of the world, dedicating a work to the public domain before copyright or database protections expire is difficult and sometimes even impossible. Laws vary widely across jurisdictions, and in many countries creators cannot easily surrender rights that are automatically granted by law.

In some legal systems, certain rights (such as moral rights) cannot be waived at all, even when an author explicitly wishes to give the public full freedom to use their work. As a result, there has historically been no simple, reliable way for creators to make their works truly and clearly free for everyone to use worldwide.

Creative Commons’ public domain tools were created to help solve this problem.

Creative Commons is a nonprofit. The public domain is a crucial part of the commons and relies on community support. Your support helps keep CC tolls free, maintain legal accuracy, expand global access, and protect access to knowledge.

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Building a Stronger Public Domain

Creative Commons offers two tools to strengthen and expand the public domain:

• CC0 Public Domain Dedication: for creators who want to give their work to the public
• Public Domain Mark (PDM): for identifying works already in the public domain

CC0

CC0 (“CC Zero”) was created to solve the challenge of making works as fully public as possible.

CC0 is a universal legal tool that allows creators and rightsholders to waive all copyright and related rights in their works to the fullest extent permitted by law. It is designed to work globally and is not tailored to the laws of any single country.

While no legal tool can guarantee complete relinquishment of all copyright and database rights in every jurisdiction, CC0 offers the strongest and most reliable way to place a work as fully as possible into the public domain across international legal systems.

By applying CC0, creators and rightsholders enable:

• Free use of their work for any purpose
• No permission requests required
• No attribution required (unless the user chooses to give it)
• Unrestricted copying, modification, and redistribution
• Easier reuse in education, science, art, and innovation

CC0 is widely used by scientists, educators, artists, and institutions that want their work to be shared as openly as possible.

Using CC0

Use this universal tool if you are a holder of copyright or database rights, and you wish to waive all rights that may exist in your work worldwide. Because copyright laws differ around the world, you may use this tool even though you may not have copyright in your jurisdiction but want to be sure to eliminate any copyrights you may have in other jurisdictions.

• Do not use CC0 to mark works that are already free of known copyright and database restrictions worldwide.
• Use CC0 to waive copyright and database rights to the extent you may have these rights in your work under the laws of at least one jurisdiction, even if your work is free of restrictions in others. Doing so clarifies the status of your work unambiguously worldwide and facilitates reuse.
• Only apply CC0 to your own work, unless you have the legal authority to apply it to another person’s work.

CC0 vs CC Licenses

• CC licenses allow creators to retain copyright while granting certain permissions for use and reuse.
• CC0 offers the choice to opt out of copyright and database protection entirely to the fullest extent allowed by law.

Think of CC0 as the “no rights reserved” alternative to our licenses.

Public Domain Dedication

The Public Domain Mark (PDM) is a tool for labeling works that are no longer restricted by copyright and are believed to be in the public domain worldwide.

The mark helps make public domain works easier to discover by clearly signaling that they can be freely used, shared, and reused by anyone, without copyright restrictions.

What the Public Domain Mark Does

Many cultural heritage institutions—including museums, libraries, and archives—hold collections that include paintings, manuscripts, photographs, books, and other works whose copyright protections have expired.

The PDM allows these institutions, as well as others with reliable knowledge of a work’s legal status, to:

• Identify public domain works clearly and consistently
• Communicate that a work is free of known copyright restrictions
• Improve discovery and reuse through standardized labeling
• Provide reliable copyright status information to the public

The mark serves as a trusted signal that a work is believed to be in the public domain and that it may be used freely, without requesting permission.

When to Use the Public Domain Mark

The PDM is recommended for works that:

• Are free of known copyright restrictions worldwide
• Are typically older works whose copyright terms have expired
• Have been reviewed by institutions or experts with knowledge of their legal status

It is commonly used by museums, libraries, and archives to identify materials that are part of humanity’s shared cultural heritage.

When Not to Use the Public Domain Mark

The PDM should not be used for works that are in the public domain in some countries but still protected in others.

Some works have partial or hybrid public domain status for reasons such as:

• Exceptionally long copyright terms in certain countries
• Failure to meet renewal or registration formalities in some jurisdictions
• Differences in national copyright law
• Special legal treatment of specific works or creators
• Protection in one country but not another

Because of these legal inconsistencies, the PDM should not be used when a work’s public domain status is uncertain or jurisdiction-specific.

Public Domain Mark vs. CC0

The PDM is a label, not a legal tool. It is used to identify works already in the public domain worldwide. PDM is a purely informational tool and can be applied by anyone who has done the research to confirm a work is in the public domain.

CC0 is a legal tool used by creators or rightsholders to dedicate their work to the public domain. CC0 changes the legal status of the work, so can only be used by the rightsholder.

If you are a creator or rightsholder who wants to dedicate your work to the public domain, use CC0.

If you are certain that a work is already in the worldwide public domain, use the PDM.

Multilingual Support

The deeds and legal codes of the CC public domain tools are translated into over 45 languages. Learn how to help us translate into more!