public domain in law, legal availability for public use, free of charge, of materials, processes, devices, skills, and plans that are not protected by copyright or patent, including those on which copyright or patent has lapsed. source: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright (c) 2001-05 Columbia University Press. Dan Yaccarino is an internationally acclaimed author-illustrator with more than thirty children's books to his credit, including Five Little Pumpkins, Trashy Town, Unlovable, and The Fantastic Undersea Life of Jacques Cousteau. He also created and produced Nickelodeon's Oswald and is the character designer behind The Backyardigans. You can visit him at www.yaccarinostudio.com.