Final answer:
Public domain items can be used by anyone and often include US government documents, but they are not protected by copyright because they no longer have an active copyright. Usage without credit can be both true and false, depending on additional legal considerations or agreements.
Step-by-step explanation:
Items in the public domain are available for free use by anyone and are often US government documents that can be used without obtaining permission or paying copyright fees. However, whether they are protected by federal copyright laws or can be used without giving credit varies depending on the item's history and copyright status. Items in the public domain are typically not protected by copyright because the period of copyright protection has expired, been forfeited, or is inapplicable. While items in the public domain can generally be used freely, some uses may still be subject to other types of restrictions or requirements such as respecting trademark rights or specific terms of use for digital repositories. Therefore, the true/false statements presented would be answered as follows:
- Protected by federal copyright laws - False
- Available for free use by anyone - True
- Often US government documents - True(many US government documents are indeed in the public domain)
- Available for re-use without giving credit - True and False, depending on the specific circumstances and whether credit is required by other non-copyright related laws or agreements.