In copyright law, nobody owns the text. What you own is the right to make a copy. If you have a copyright, it is an exclusive right to make a copy. You can s

In copyright law, nobody owns the text. What you own is the right to make a copy. If you have a copyright, it is an exclusive right to make a copy. You can sell a license for someone else to make a copy. If the text is in the public domain, you also have the right to make a copy. You do not have an exclusive right. You can sell the right to make a copy, just like you can sell the right to jump up and down. Nobody needs that right because they already have it, but nothing is stopping you from selling it. Remember that in all "intellectual property", the "property" is a right, not the thing itself.