Public Domain Day

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Public Domain Day
Logo PDD 2026.svg
English logo for the 2025/26 Public Domain Day in Poland
Official nameInternational Public Domain Day
Also calledPDD
Date January 1
Next timeJanuary 1, 2026 (2026-01-01)
Frequencyannual

Public Domain Day (PDD) is an observance of when copyrights expire and works enter into the public domain. [1] This legal transition of copyright works into the public domain usually happens every year on January 1 based on the individual copyright laws of each country. [1]

Contents

The observance of a "Public Domain Day" was initially informal; the earliest known mention was in 2004 by Wallace McLean (a Canadian public domain activist), [2] with support for the idea echoed by Lawrence Lessig. [3] Several websites list the authors whose works are entering the public domain each January 1. There are activities in countries around the world by various organizations all under the banner Public Domain Day.

Public domain

A public domain photo from a public domain celebration in 2016 (Brussels, Felix Reda speaking) Felix Reda at Public Domain Day Celebration 2016.jpg
A public domain photo from a public domain celebration in 2016 (Brussels, Felix Reda speaking)

Copyright protection terms are typically described as expiring a number of years after the end of the calendar year when the author died ( post mortem auctoris or pma). [4] [5] Durations vary by country; in many jurisdictions, including the US and European Union, copyright usually lasts 70 years pma. [6] [5] In such countries, the works of authors who died in 1955 will pass into the public domain on January 1, 2026. These works become fully available so that anyone can access and use them for any purpose, without authorization. [5]

Since public domain rights vary based on jurisdiction, the passage of a work into the public domain is not worldwide. [7] In the United States, no additional published works entered the public domain automatically from 1999 to 2018. [7] [8] Each year, most European countries see various works passing into the public domain, as do Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. [3] [5] [7] [9]

Public Domain Day in 2010 celebrated the entry to the public domain in many countries of the works of authors such as Sigmund Freud, William Butler Yeats, Ford Madox Ford and Arthur Rackham. [1] In 2011, it celebrated the public domain status of Isaac Babel, Walter Benjamin, John Buchan, Mikhail Bulgakov, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Emma Goldman, Paul Klee, Selma Lagerlöf, Leon Trotsky, Vito Volterra, Nathanael West, and others. [10]

Significant materials entering the public domain in 2021 included: F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby , Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway , Ernest Hemingway's In Our Time , Franz Kafka's The Trial , and the jazz standard "Sweet Georgia Brown". [11]

In 2025, copyrighted works from 1929 entered the public domain in the United States.

Celebrations and milestones

Public Domain Day celebration in Poland (2008) Domena publiczna 08 Polimerek 2.jpg
Public Domain Day celebration in Poland (2008)
Public Domain Day 2020 celebration in Indonesia

There is no explicit time when Public Domain Day began being observed (it was mentioned by Lawrence Lessig in 2004 [3] ), but in recent years it has been mentioned by Project Gutenberg [12] and has been promoted by Creative Commons. [13] Public Domain Day events have been hosted on various dates in Poland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Israel. [14] [15]

In January 2011, to celebrate Public Domain Day 2011, Open Knowledge Foundation launched The Public Domain Review , a web-based review of works which have entered the public domain. [16] [17]

In January 2012, a celebration was announced in Warsaw, Poland, [18] and for the first time in Kraków, [19] where for several years on that day various activities have been organized by free culture NGOs (such as Koalicja Otwartej Edukacji and Open Society Institute) and other supporters. [20] [21] Other 2012 events announced worldwide: [22]

In later years, Public Domain Day events have been organized by Communia, [23] which also maintained the publicdomainday.org website. [24]

2019

Public Domain Day in 2019 was significant in the United States as it was the first year to have any meaningful copyright expirations there since the event's establishment: a 20-year freeze had been imposed in 1998 with the passage of the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act. [25] Several activities were carried to celebrate the event, including a special section at the MIT Libraries for public domain works [26] and the "Grand Re-Opening of the Public Domain" [27] that took place at the Internet Archive with the presence of members of Creative Commons, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Wikimedia Foundation, among other scholars like Pam Samuelson, Lawrence Lessig and James Boyle.[ citation needed ]

2022

In 2022 in the United States, in addition to works published in 1926 that had had their copyright renewed, about 400,000 sound recordings from before 1923 also passed into the public domain under the CLASSICS Act. The earliest iteration of Winnie The Pooh became public domain. [28] [29]

2024

On 2024's Public Domain Day, all published works from 1928 entered the public domain. This included the animated short film Steamboat Willie , featuring Mickey Mouse, a subject of significant copyright interest. The inclusion of this work was a landmark event, ending years of controversies, although Disney might still claim trademark rights on Mickey Mouse, with only Mickey’s earliest appearances being public domain. Additionally, all sound recordings from 1923 entered into the public domain. [30] No sound recordings had entered the public domain in 2023, as all pre-1923 recordings already entered into the public domain in 2022. However, recordings from 1923 to 1946 enter the public domain on January 1 of the year after their 100th year after publication. Thus, a recording published in June 1923, for example, would have entered the public domain on January 1, 2024. [31] The earliest versions of Peter Pan became public domain in 2024. The relevant plays were published in 1928, despite the character having debuted in 1902. [32]

2025

The earliest versions of Popeye the Sailor Man and Tintin became public domain figures. [33] It was the first day that all songs, art, films and books from the 1920s were public domain, with the only exception being sound recordings. [34]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copyright</span> Legal concept regulating rights of a creative work

A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educational, or musical form. Copyright is intended to protect the original expression of an idea in the form of a creative work, but not the idea itself. A copyright is subject to limitations based on public interest considerations, such as the fair use doctrine in the United States and fair dealings doctrine in the United Kingdom.

Eldred v. Ashcroft, 537 U.S. 186 (2003), was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States upholding the constitutionality of the 1998 Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA). The practical result of this was to prevent a number of works from entering the public domain in 1998 and following years, as would have occurred under the Copyright Act of 1976. Materials which the plaintiffs had worked with and were ready to republish were now unavailable due to copyright restrictions.

Creative Commons (CC) is an American non-profit organization and international network devoted to educational access and expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright licenses, known as Creative Commons licenses, free of charge to the public. These licenses allow authors of creative works to communicate which rights they reserve and which rights they waive for the benefit of recipients or other creators. An easy-to-understand one-page explanation of rights, with associated visual symbols, explains the specifics of each Creative Commons license. Content owners still maintain their copyright, but Creative Commons licenses give standard releases that replace the individual negotiations for specific rights between copyright owner (licensor) and licensee, that are necessary under an "all rights reserved" copyright management.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free-culture movement</span> Social movement promoting the freedom to distribute and modify the creative works of others

The free-culture movement is a social movement that promotes the freedom to distribute and modify the creative works of others in the form of free content or open content. They encourage creators to create such content by using permissive and share-alike licensing, like that used on Wikipedia.

Portal Domínio Público is a digital library launched by the government of Brazil in November 2004. It was founded as part of the Secretariat for Distance Education of the Ministry of Education with the goal of preserving and sharing cultural artworks that are in the public domain.

Public domain music is music to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copyright Term Extension Act</span> United States copyright law

The Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act – also known as the Copyright Term Extension Act, Sonny Bono Act, or (derisively) the Mickey Mouse Protection Act – extended copyright terms in the United States in 1998. It is one of several acts extending the terms of copyright.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public domain</span> Works outside the scope of copyright law

The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds the exclusive rights, anyone can legally use or reference those works without permission.

<i>Steamboat Willie</i> 1928 American animated short film

Steamboat Willie is a 1928 American animated short film directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. It was produced in black and white by Walt Disney Animation Studios and was released by Pat Powers, under the name of Celebrity Productions. The cartoon is considered the public debut of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, although both appeared months earlier in a test screening of Plane Crazy and the then yet unreleased The Gallopin' Gaucho. Steamboat Willie was the third of Mickey's films to be produced, but it was the first to be distributed, because Disney, having seen The Jazz Singer, had committed himself to produce one of the first fully synchronized sound cartoons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coalition for Open Education</span>

Coalition for Open Education is a coalition of institutions supporting and developing Open Educational Resources (OER) in Poland. Coalition was formed on 27 November 2008 by Stowarzyszenie Bibliotekarzy Polskich, ICM UW/Creative Commons Polska, Fundacja Nowoczesna Polska and Wikimedia Polska.

COMMUNIA is a thematic project funded by the European Commission within the eContentplus framework addressing theoretical analysis and strategic policy discussion of existing and emerging issues concerning the public domain in the digital environment - as well as related topics, including, but not limited to, alternative forms of licensing for creative material; open access to scientific publications and research results; management of works whose authors are unknown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public domain in the United States</span>

Works are in the public domain if they are not covered by the intellectual property right known as copyright, or if the intellectual property rights to the works have expired. Works automatically enter the public domain when their copyright has expired. The United States Copyright Office is a federal agency tasked with maintaining copyright records.

When a work's copyright expires, it enters the public domain. The following is a list of works that entered the public domain in 2019. Since laws vary globally, the copyright status of some works are not uniform.

When a work's copyright expires, it enters the public domain. The following is a list of creators whose works entered the public domain in 2020. Since laws vary globally, the copyright status of some works is not uniform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music Modernization Act</span> United States copyright law

The Orrin G. Hatch–Bob Goodlatte Music Modernization Act, or Music Modernization Act or MMA is United States legislation signed into law on October 11, 2018, aimed to modernize copyright-related issues for music and audio recordings due to new forms of technology such as digital streaming. It is a consolidation of three separate bills introduced during the 115th United States Congress.

When a work's copyright expires, it enters the public domain. The following is a list of creators whose works entered the public domain in 2021. Since laws vary globally, the copyright status of some works are not uniform.

The following is a list of creators whose works entered the public domain on 1 January 2022. When copyright expires in a creative work, it enters the public domain. Since copyright terms vary from country to country, the copyright status of a work may not be the same in all countries.

When a work's copyright expires, it enters the public domain. The following is a list of creators whose works entered the public domain in 2024. Since laws vary globally, the copyright status of some works are not uniform.

When a work's copyright expires, it enters the public domain. Since laws vary globally, the copyright status of works is not uniform. The following lists list creators whose works entered the public domain in 2025 under the most common copyright regimes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 in American public domain</span> 2024 additions to the public domain in the US

Under the Copyright Term Extension Act, books published in 1928, films released in 1928, and other works published in 1928, enter the public domain in 2024. Sound recordings that were published in 1923 enter the public domain.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Richmond, Shane (January 1, 2010). "Happy Public Domain Day! Here's to many more – Telegraph Blogs". Blogs.telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on January 5, 2010. Retrieved December 24, 2011.
  2. ↑ Happy Public Domain Day! Archived June 3, 2017, at the Wayback Machine , Wallace J.McLean, January 1, 2004.
  3. 1 2 3 Lessig, Lawrence (January 1, 2004). "public domain day – in Canada (Lessig Blog)". Lessig.org. Archived from the original on July 1, 2007. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988: Section 12", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, November 15, 1988, 1988 c. 48 (s. 12), Copyright expires at the end of the period of 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the author dies ...
  5. 1 2 3 4 "About | Public Domain Day – 1 January 2012". Public Domain Day. Archived from the original on January 6, 2010. Retrieved December 24, 2011.
  6. ↑ Hirtle, Peter B. "Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States". copyright.cornell.edu. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 "Public Domain Day". Law.duke.edu. Retrieved December 24, 2011.
  8. ↑ Anderson, Nate (January 4, 2010). "Nothing to celebrate on Public Domain Day 2010 in the US". Arstechnica.com. Retrieved December 24, 2011.
  9. ↑ Smith, Ali (January 2, 2024). "Public Domain Day 2024". Wikimedia Australia. Retrieved August 29, 2024.[ better source needed ]
  10. ↑ "Authors entering the Public Domain in 2011 | Public Domain Day – 1 January 2012". Public Domain Day. Archived from the original on December 22, 2011. Retrieved December 24, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Public Domain Day 2021". Duke University School of Law.
  12. ↑ "January 1, 2011 is going to be Public Domain Day – Project Gutenberg News". Gutenbergnews.org. September 24, 2011. Retrieved December 25, 2011.
  13. ↑ "Public Domain Day". Creative Commons. Retrieved December 25, 2011.
  14. ↑ Carlos, Juan (December 12, 2011). "Public Domain Day 2012 | International Communia Association". Communia-association.org. Retrieved December 24, 2011.
  15. ↑ "PD Day Celebration at Haifa University". Haifa Center for Law and Technology, Haifa University. May 1, 2011. Archived from the original on January 25, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2012.
  16. ↑ "Launch of the Public Domain Review to celebrate Public Domain Day 2011", Open Knowledge Foundation blog, January 1, 2011.
  17. ↑ Wesner, Samantha. "The Public Domain Review". The Public Domain Review.
  18. ↑ "Jak świętowaliśmy Dzień Domeny Publicznej 2012 | Domena Publiczna".
  19. ↑ "Obchody Dnia Domeny Publicznej w Krakowie | Domena Publiczna".
  20. ↑ "Report from Public Domain Day 2011 in Poland | Dzień Domeny Publicznej 2012" (in Polish). Domenapubliczna.org. December 31, 2010. Retrieved December 26, 2011.
  21. ↑ "Dzień Domeny Publicznej 2012 | uwalniamy artefakty kultury!" (in Polish). Domenapubliczna.org. Retrieved December 24, 2011.
  22. ↑ "P.D. Day 2012 Celebrations". COMMUNIA. Retrieved December 30, 2011.
  23. ↑ "Events Archive". COMMUNIA Association. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  24. ↑ "Public Domain Manifesto". Public Domain Manifesto. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  25. ↑ Holmes, Helen (December 31, 2018). "2019 Will Gift Us With a Huge Release of Copyrighted Works Entering the Public Domain". Observer. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  26. ↑ "MIT Libraries" . Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  27. ↑ Bailey, Lila (December 5, 2018). "Join us for A Grand Re-Opening of the Public Domain | Internet Archive Blogs" . Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  28. ↑ Jenkins, Jennifer. "Public Domain Day 2022". Center for the Study of the Public Domain. Duke University. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  29. ↑ https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6309960
  30. ↑ Jenkins, Jennifer (2023). "January 1, 2023 is Public Domain Day: Works from 1927 are open to all!". Center for the Study of the Public Domain. Duke University. Footnote #3. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  31. ↑ https://www.dexerto.com/tv-movies/the-original-peter-pan-is-now-in-the-public-domain-2452682/#:~:text=As%20of%20January%201%2C%202024,copyright%20purposes%20%E2%80%93%20hence%20the%20delay.
  32. ↑ Wexler, Ellen. "Happy Public Domain Day! Popeye, 'Rhapsody in Blue,' 'The Sound and the Fury' and Thousands of Other Captivating Creations Are Finally Free for Everyone to Use". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved January 2, 2025.
  33. ↑ Jenkins, Jennifer. "January 1, 2025 is Public Domain Day: Works from 1929 are open to all, as are sound recordings from 1924!". Center for the Study of the Public Domain. Duke Law. Retrieved January 6, 2025.
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