Creative Commons has released a new 'public domain' mark, used to indicate that a work has been placed into the public domain and has no copyrights attached to it. That does not open up a free-for-all, however. As the associated deed notes, there may be patent or trademark rights associated with the work. That is the lesser concern. Of greater note is that, in some jurisdictions, there may be moral rights attached, which cannot be extinguished. "These rights may include the right to be identified as the author and the right to object to derogatory treatments." So even if you're using public domain works, take care to treat the work, and its author, with consideration and respect. Which should be a rule even in domains where moral rights do not apply. (Note that the use of the mark on this story is a representation only, and not an assignment of this story to the public domain.)
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