"Copyright, a form of intellectual property law, protects original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, such as poetry, novels, movies, songs, computer software, and architecture. Copyright does not protect facts, ideas, systems, or methods of operation, although it may protect the way these things are expressed." (from copyright.gov)
Works in the public domain are works that are not protected by copyright law, either because the copyright has expired, the work was dedicated to the public domain, or it is a work for which copyright does not apply.
Here are some select books on copyright, public domain, and creative commons you can find using the Metro State library catalog.
Common as Air: revolution, art, and ownership by 
