I know this is a hard one to research, and I've been doing it myself. I thought I'd post a link to my blog where I just discussed how to find info online about it. There's a lot of EXCELLENT links in the blog post, which people here might be interested in.

http://www.puppetsinmelbourne.com.au/blog.php/2012/03/04/are-you-public-domain

It is very hard to read at times since the menu krept into the text... While apprentising at a bookstore we learned in school a nice rule of thumb: if someone is dead for 50 years, he is public domain (internationally, in Germany it's 70 years, so there is a possible clash, too). If someone translates something or writes something about someone, he or she is the owner of that immaterial property so it counts from that persons death, at least if the owner of the original is death. I don't know about special stuff: If there was a play or other text in English and I'd translate it into German, I don't think I would be allowed unless the original author was public domain. (Want any Wagner?). So if the translator died before the author it might take longer for the translated piece to become public domain. (Translaters seem to have a licence, normally). Just my 2 ct, sorry if you already covered that, but as I said: your text was a bit hard on my eyes...

What do you mean the menu crept into the text? Can you email me a screenshot and let me know what browser/screen resolution you're using?

Actually, the 'rule of thumb' is not: one of the links I gave in the blog post is for a worldwide map which shows just how long copyright lasts after the life of the author. It isn't the same for all countries, and actually, the US is different to Australia.

But yes, translated texts are copyrighted whether or not the original is in public domain. So the 'rule of thumb' is even harder to work out.

I think the best rule is to assume nothing and get legal advice for whatever you want to use.

Na it is the right hand column that overlays the left if the browser window is not wide enough. Would be an issue most likely on older monitors laptops maybe and then mobile devices.

Ok, I really need a screenshot... I've been fiddling around with the skin as my new wider-screened computer allowed me to see some problems. I've designed the site for the most common screen size, so anything too big or too small might have issues.

And yeah, I've certainly not done anything for mobile devices. Not having one myself, it's hard to test and design for them...

Here is a screen shot of what is happening.

You might be able to wrap your entire page content in a div tag and then set it's css/style to have a min-width.

Ok thanks, I already have a width set, but no min-width so I'll add that in.

Update: I have done more research on this and uncovered a host of new and great resources for public domain info and related resources. More info/links here:
http://www.puppetsinmelbourne.com.au/blog.php/2012/03/09/are-you-public-domain-continued