Can You Legally Use an Old "Public Domain" Image You Found in a Book or on the Web?
An old image that is public domain may
still be protected in two ways:
You cannot
legally copy from another's copy (like from a book, magazine or web site).
You must go to the source and make your own copy of a public domain
image. (See Alfred Bell & Co. v. Catalda Fine Arts,Inc.,
191 F.2d 99 (2nd Cir. 1951)).
In addition, their copy of the public
domain image may itself be Copyrighted.
You can learn more about the four
layers of using images legally by seeing sample pages from the book
How to Use Images Legally.
How to get your own copies of public
domain images