The European Public Domain Day 2025

Camille Françoise

On the 9th January 2025, many of us celebrated the Public Domain Day at the Royal Library of Brussels. If you have missed this wonderful celebration, I encourage you to discover the recordings of the day, which are available here. 

While we are joyfully celebrating the Public Domain Day, this celebreation should not only be done in January. It is an every day opportunity. Every day, our communities and societies are using and reusing stories, works, pieces that has been created by our elders and ancestors. Our society is established on our capacity to build and weave our culture together, based on what other's have created. That's how we stand on the shoulders of giants. 

Acknowledging the challenges that creators currently face, there is no question about the fact that creators must receive fair & adapted compensations for their work. In France, the rapport Racine has eloquently highlighed the pauperisation of the creators, and the issues linked to their representations within political discussions. 

However, the arrival of works in the Public Domain should not be delayed or hindered any longer. We must put more efforts in allowing every citizen to freely access works is essential for each person to enjoy the benefits of this common good. 

This year, the program was once again divided within two tracks. The Belgian Track and the European Track which contained the policy & legal perspectives, european practices on the topic, starting with a keynote from Séverine Dusollier, full professor at Science Po Paris. 

  • Europeana Copyright Working Group - The Europeana Public Domain Charter.
  • Leander Nielbock (COMMUNIA) - Access to Public Documents & Speeches.
  • Brigitte Vézina (Creative Commons) - TAROCH
  • Harrie Temminck (European Union Intellectual Property Office) - Copyright Learning Center. 
  • Merete Sanderhoff (Staten Museums voor Kunst, Danemark) & Jon Beck - Digitization of 3D works in the SMK. 
  • Daffydd Tudur (National Library of Wales - UK) - Good practices for beginners - How to open Collections
  • NivoPol (Le Deuxième Texte) -  Forgotten Women in the Public Domain
  • Xavier Cailleau (Wikimedia France) - Le Label Culture Libre.

 

If you want to read more about the Public Domain 

👉  Public Domain Manifesto (COMMUNIA)

👉 Get Involved in the European Public Domain Day (Europeana)