Overview
- Copyrights expired on January 1 for a wide slate of 1930 works in the U.S., with separate rules bringing 1925 sound recordings into the public domain.
- Disney’s 1930 shorts The Chain Gang and The Picnic are now free to use, covering the dog’s nameless bloodhound and “Rover” versions that predate the 1931 naming of Pluto, which becomes eligible in 2027.
- Fleischer Studios’ Dizzy Dishes (1930) introduced a dog-eared Betty Boop that is now public domain, while the company says the later, fully developed character remains protected.
- The first four Nancy Drew novels join notable books, films and comics such as As I Lay Dying, The Maltese Falcon, All Quiet on the Western Front, Animal Crackers, King of Jazz and early Blondie.
- Musical compositions entering the public domain include Georgia on My Mind, Dream a Little Dream of Me and multiple George Gershwin standards such as I Got Rhythm, with trademarks and later versions of works still enforceable.