# Public Domain Tool
**Wikidata**: [Q105122993](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q105122993)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/public-domain-tool

## Summary
Public Domain Tool is a Belgian website (https://www.publiekdomeintool.be/) that helps GLAM institutions determine and publish the copyright status of collection items. It was launched in 2020, is presented in Dutch, and combines openly licensed content with source code published under an open-source license.

## Key Facts
- Public Domain Tool is a website (instance_of: website) hosted at https://www.publiekdomeintool.be/ and published in Dutch.
- The project’s inception year is 2020 (reference date 2021-08-24).
- The site was commissioned by the Department for Culture, Youth and Media (Belgium) (reference date 2021-08-24).
- Intended public: GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives, museums).
- Content on the site is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (applies_to_part: content; referenced 2021-08-24).
- Source code is licensed under the GNU General Public License, version 3.0 (applies_to_part: source code; referenced 2021-08-24).
- Source code repository: https://gitlab.com/corecrew-open-source/publiekdomeintool (referenced 2021-08-24).
- Development and project roles listed in structured data include developer identifiers Q105123059 (applies_to_part Q170855), CopyClear (applies_to_part Wikidata), and Q97992874 (project manager); operator is Q97992874.
- The site’s copyright_status is recorded as "copyrighted" (reference date 2021-08-24).
- Described by Meemoo at https://meemoo.be/nl/projecten/publiekdomeintool-kan-jouw-collectie-gedeeld-worden (language: Dutch; referenced 2021-01-30 / 2021-08-24).

## FAQs
### Q: What is the Public Domain Tool used for?
A: The Public Domain Tool is used to determine and publish the copyright status of cultural heritage items, targeted at GLAM institutions. It provides structured guidance and published outputs to help institutions share collection information.

### Q: Who commissioned and operates the Public Domain Tool?
A: The tool was commissioned by Belgium’s Department for Culture, Youth and Media. The structured data lists an operator and project manager under the identifier Q97992874.

### Q: Is the Public Domain Tool open source?
A: The site’s source code is published under the GNU General Public License version 3.0 and hosted at a public GitLab repository (https://gitlab.com/corecrew-open-source/publiekdomeintool). The site’s content is published under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International.

### Q: In what language is the tool available?
A: The Public Domain Tool is presented in Dutch.

### Q: Who is the intended audience for the tool?
A: The intended audience is GLAM institutions (galleries, libraries, archives, museums).

## Why It Matters
Public Domain Tool addresses a practical need for GLAM institutions to assess and communicate the copyright status of items in their collections. By centralizing guidance and publishing both human-readable content and machine-usable outputs, it supports institutions that want to share digitized cultural heritage while complying with copyright constraints. Being commissioned by a governmental culture department gives the project institutional backing for national cultural policy goals. The combination of an openly licensed content layer (CC BY-SA 4.0) and GPLv3-licensed source code increases transparency and reuse: institutions can adapt workflows and code, and share derived content under a permissive, share-alike content license. The availability of the repository on GitLab enables technical reuse and audit, while the Dutch-language presentation aligns the tool with its primary Belgian FLANDERS audience. For GLAM professionals, the tool streamlines one of the principal barriers to sharing — clarity about copyright — making digitized collections more discoverable and responsibly reusable.

## Notable For
- Dual licensing model: site content under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 and source code under GNU GPL v3.0.
- Commissioned by the Department for Culture, Youth and Media (Belgium), indicating governmental support and alignment with cultural policy.
- Targeted specifically at GLAM institutions as the intended public.
- Public source code repository hosted on GitLab: https://gitlab.com/corecrew-open-source/publiekdomeintool.
- Dutch-language implementation aimed at Belgian cultural heritage stakeholders.

## Body
### Overview
- Name and access: Public Domain Tool, accessible at https://www.publiekdomeintool.be/ (Dutch).
- Instance type: website.
- Inception: 2020 (reference provided 2021-08-24).
- Primary use: copyright status assessment and publication for cultural heritage items (use: copyright status).

### Purpose and audience
- Intended public: GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives, museums).
- Commissioned by: Department for Culture, Youth and Media (Belgium) with references dated 2021-08-24 and supporting policy documentation.

### Licensing and copyright
- Content license: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (applies_to_part: content; referenced 2021-08-24).
- Source code license: GNU General Public License, version 3.0 (applies_to_part: source code; referenced 2021-08-24).
- Overall site copyright_status recorded as "copyrighted" (reference 2021-08-24).

### Development, operation, and technical details
- Developer entries in the structured data include Q105123059 (applies_to_part Q170855), CopyClear (applies_to_part Wikidata), and Q97992874 (with P2868: project manager).
- Operator is recorded as Q97992874.
- Software_engine is identified as Q170855 in the structured properties.
- Source code repository URL: https://gitlab.com/corecrew-open-source/publiekdomeintool (qualifiers included in structured data; referenced 2021-08-24).
- The project is described on Meemoo’s site: https://meemoo.be/nl/projecten/publiekdomeintool-kan-jouw-collectie-gedeeld-worden (language: Dutch; referenced 2021-01-30).

### References and provenance
- Main public site: https://www.publiekdomeintool.be/ (Dutch).
- Meemoo project description: https://meemoo.be/nl/projecten/publiekdomeintool-kan-jouw-collectie-gedeeld-worden.
- GitLab repository: https://gitlab.com/corecrew-open-source/publiekdomeintool.
- Structured-data reference dates associated with licensing, inception, and descriptions include 2021-01-30 and 2021-08-24 as provided in the source material.

## References

1. [Source](https://www.publiekdomeintool.be/nl)
2. [Source](https://www.vlaanderen.be/cjm/sites/default/files/2019-11/180710-visienota_digitale_cultuur.pdf)
3. [Source](https://meemoo.be/nl/projecten/publiekdomeintool-kan-jouw-collectie-gedeeld-worden)