Public domain has been around as s concept for a while throughout history, having restrictions on the control of the limits of copywrited material. However in America, during the late 1600s and early 1700s, many laws pertaining to copyright were passed, and in 1710 one of the building blocks of the public domain we now know was passed.

The 1710 act, or the Statute of Ann, created a fixed term, 14 years at the time and 14 more for renewal if the creator was still alive, of ownership.This was passed in order stop a monopoly from book sellers.

The term "Public Domain" however was not in use until 1896, when the Supreme Court took after the French and used the term,that it would become a commonly used term.