The Public Domain Manifesto was developed within the context of the COMMUNIA network and released in January 2010.^[1] It outlines a series of general principles, addresses various issues and provides recommendations aimed at protecting the Public Domain. The Public Domain enshrined in the Manifesto has a broad range that can be used without restriction, in the absence of copyright protection. It includes shared material released under alternative licensing options, fair use and material released under “open access policies.” The Public Domain Manifesto was first developed within the COMMUNIA Working Group 6 – Mapping the public domain. The members of COMMUNIA Working Group 6, starting from an idea expressed during the 1st COMMUNIA Conference, worked for many months during 2009 to prepare a draft text, which was later circulated among COMMUNIA members, until a final version was completed and publicly launched on January 25, 2010. The Public Domain Manifesto web site has been set up at http://publicdomainmanifesto.org to publish the document online and collect signatures. The Public Domain Manifesto has been so far signed by thousands of individuals and hundreds of organizations.