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Determining whether something is in the public domain, and thus free and legal to use in any way, shape or form, is a very difficult thing to do. Unfortunately, this very fact has given rise to 'copyfraud,' the 'false assertions of copyright,' as defined by law school professor Jason Mazzone. It is illegal to claim copyright on information in the public domain, and yet it happens far too often. This is partly due to the fact that penalties for copyfraud are limited under the Copyright Act, and enforcement is weak. Furthermore, laws against publishing something without a copyright that should have one are much stronger. This, according to Mazzone, 'gives publishers an incentive to claim ownership...in everything.' People and corporations take part in copyfraud to make profits or to confuse, confound and scare people away from doing what they have a legal right to do. But determining what really is in the public domain is quite difficult, what with all the issues and exceptions that are involved. Several sites can help verify public domain materials, such as Project Gutenberg and the Alex Catalogue of Electronic Texts. A number of advocacy organizations for public domain and open access exist, including the Library Copyright Alliance and the Society of American Archivists. More detailed lists are available within the article.
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