Overview
- Works first published in 1930 become public domain in the United States on Jan. 1, 2026, according to Duke’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain.
- Early iterations of iconic characters join the commons, including Betty Boop’s debut in Dizzy Dishes, Pluto as Rover in two 1930 Disney shorts, and the initial Blondie newspaper strips.
- Notable books entering include William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon, Agatha Christie’s The Murder at the Vicarage, and the first four Nancy Drew novels.
- Films newly available for free reuse include All Quiet on the Western Front, the Marx Brothers’ Animal Crackers, The Big Trail, King of Jazz, and The Blue Angel, alongside popular songs by George and Ira Gershwin and standards like Georgia on My Mind.
- Separate rules bring certain 1925 sound recordings into the public domain as well, while trademarks and later revisions of characters or texts remain protected and can still limit some commercial uses.