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The Public Domain Manifesto
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5. No other intellectual property right must be used to reconstitute exclusivity over public domain material. The public domain is integral to the internal balance of the copyright system. This internal balance must not be manipulated by attempts to reconstitute or obtain exclusive control via regulations that are external to copyright.

6. There must be a practical and effective path to make available “orphan works” and published works that are no longer commercially available (such as out-of-print works) for re-use by society. The extension of the scope and duration of copyright and the prohibition of formalities for foreign works have created a huge body of orphan works that are neither under the control of their authors nor part of the public domain. Given that such works under current law do not benefit their authors or society, these works need to be made available for productive re-use by society as a whole.

7. Cultural heritage institutions should take upon themselves a special role in the effective labeling and preserving of public domain works. Not-for-profit cultural heritage organizations have been entrusted with preservation of our shared knowledge and culture for centuries. As part of this role they need to ensure that works in the public domain are available to all of society, by labeling them, preserving them and making them freely available.

8. There must be no legal obstacles that prevent the voluntary sharing of works or the dedication of works to the public domain. Both are legitimate exercises of exclusive rights granted by copyright and both are critical to ensuring access to essential cultural goods and knowledge and to respecting authors’ wishes.

9. Personal non-commercial uses of protected works must generally be made possible, for which alternative modes of remuneration for the author must be explored. While it is essential for the self-development of each individual that he or she be able to make personal non-commercial uses of works, it is just as essential that the position of the author be taken into consideration when establishing new limitations and exceptions on copyright or revising old ones.