Ever wondered why Walt Disney never got sued for intellectual
property theft?
Cmon, the guy ripped off so many Hans Christian Anderson and
Grimm Brothers fairy tales! And he never paid the said authors
any royalty fees! Granted that theyre dead, but shouldnt their
families be entitled to proceeds from their works? Such would be
a small price to pay, considering the accumulated wealth of Walt
Disneys billion dollar enterprise.
But alas, Mr. Walt Disney, you see, is a marketing genius. He
knew how to exploit the allowable usage of public domain
information, and he built for himself an empire in the process.
And if Walt Disney can do it, so can you! After all, we all have
access to public domain information. We dont even need a
touch of that famous Disney magic. We just have to weave our
own creative spin on things.
But first, the basics
Public domain information is defined as any body of creative
works and other knowledge that is not protected by US
laws. protection needs further verification,
but by force of statute, works done prior to 1923 are public
domain information. The law also includes works done prior to
1978, for as long as the life of the author plus seventy years does
not exceed the current year.
The term body of creative works and other knowledge includes
literary works, music, movies, artworks, scientific ideas, and
inventions, just to name a few. So, quite literally, public domain
information is an ocean of many promises and splendid discoveries
for anyone who would decide to dip their feet in its inviting waters.
And public domain information is free. Everything that youll earn
from it is net profit!
Walt Disney made good use of public domain information by making
updating old classics into movies for the new, during his time at least,
generation. That was the creative spin he used to market works that
are quite archaic to make them seem new and fresh. He found his
audience, and he made his fortunes. Theres no reason why you
cant do it.
Ah, budget constraints you say. But we are internet marketers, dear
friend. Thats the beauty of the web, you see. Seldom do we have to
spend a substantial amount to invest on something. Many avenues are
available for us to make good use of free public domain information!
Here are some ways to use public domain information. They would
surely earn you significant gains!
1. Republish old literary works as e-books. The classics you see in
bookstores are prime examples of earning from public domain
information. The publishers did not have to buy the rights for the
books they have decided to distribute. You could do the same with
e-books. Search your local library for old works, and scan them.
Convert the images to text with a text bridge program, edit errors,
package them nice in .pdf format, and youre all set to market a
royalties-free product!
2. Republish old articles as special reports. Granted that youre not
likely to find an internet marketing articles circa 1923, but there are
still some interesting pieces from that era. Just the other day, I saw
a person make 43 sales for a special report he made out of a 1914
article on dog grooming.
3. Make downloadable albums of old songs. Heres your chance to
make MP3 downloads that are actually legal. However, please bear
in mind that only the songs are free game. The performances of certain
versions (i.e. the London Philharmonic Orchestras version of a
Beethoven classic) are separate copyrights in themselves. It would
be best to make your own version from the public domain compositions.
4. Offer downloadable movies. Just like Walt Disney, Ted Turner has
made a killing with public domain information. One of his channels,
Turner Classics, shows pre-1923 movies which he can rebroadcast
without having to pay any royalties. You could do the same by offering
old movies for download.
5. Make posters of timeless masterpieces. You could also search the
web for high quality images of classic paintings and sketches. These
digitized masterpieces can easily be reproduced as posters which you
could sell to the millions of art aficionados worldwide.
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