Works From 1930 Enter U.S. Public Domain on Jan. 1, 2026

Overview

• According to Duke’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain, U.S. copyright expires for 1930 publications on Jan. 1, 2026, alongside 1925 sound recordings under a separate 100‑year schedule.
• Early screen and strip icons debuting in 1930 enter, including Betty Boop’s first appearance in Dizzy Dishes, Disney’s Pluto in his initial “Rover” shorts, early Mickey Mouse shorts and newspaper strips, and the first Blondie installments.
• Notable books become available, including William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, Dashiell Hammett’s full The Maltese Falcon, the first four Nancy Drew novels in their original texts, Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple debut, and Christie’s Poirot stage play Black Coffee.
• Key films roll off the list, such as All Quiet on the Western Front (1930 sound adaptation), the Marx Brothers’ Animal Crackers, Cimarron, John Wayne’s first leading role in The Big Trail, and Soup to Nuts featuring the future Three Stooges.
• Music and art highlights include standards like Georgia on My Mind, Dream a Little Dream of Me, Gershwin’s I Got Rhythm and But Not for Me, the composition Beyond the Blue Horizon, Piet Mondrian’s Composition with Red, Blue, and Yellow, the Jules Rimet Cup design, and 1925 recordings by Marian Anderson and Louis Armstrong; later revisions and trademarks may still limit some uses.