PUBLIC DOMAIN

Free cultural works, literature, media, and resources available for unrestricted use

Public Domain refers to creative works not protected by intellectual property laws. These works can be freely used, copied, modified, and distributed by anyone without permission or payment.

1929
Now Public (US)
95
Years After Pub
70+
Years After Death
JAN 1
Public Domain Day

Entering Public Domain 2025 - 2030

2025
Works from 1929 + Sound Recordings from 1924
ALREADY FREE TO USE
Entered January 1, 2025
Iconic Characters
Popeye the Sailor
Thimble Theatre by E.C. Segar
Original 1929 version only. Spinach powers not until 1931.
Tintin
Hergé - Le Petit Vingtième
US only. Still copyrighted in EU until 2054.
Mickey Mouse (1929)
Walt Disney
12 more shorts including first spoken words in "The Karnival Kid"
Books & Literature
The Sound and the Fury
William Faulkner
ClassicNovel
A Farewell to Arms
Ernest Hemingway
ClassicNovel
A Room of One's Own
Virginia Woolf
EssayFeminist
All Quiet on the Western Front
Erich Maria Remarque (US translation)
ClassicWar
Films & Shorts
The Cocoanuts
Marx Brothers (first feature film)
ComedyMusical
Blackmail
Alfred Hitchcock's first sound film
ThrillerMilestone
The Skeleton Dance
Disney - First Silly Symphony
AnimationShort
The Karnival Kid
Disney - Mickey speaks first words
AnimationMilestone
Music
An American in Paris
George Gershwin
Classical
Boléro
Maurice Ravel
Classical
Singin' in the Rain
Nacio Herb Brown / Arthur Freed
Standard
2026
Works from 1930 + Sound Recordings from 1925
17 DAYS AWAY
January 1, 2026
Iconic Characters
Betty Boop
Fleischer Studios - Dizzy Dishes
Original 1930 version - half flapper, half poodle with dog ears
Pluto
Disney - The Chain Gang
Mickey's dog debuts as unnamed bloodhound
Blondie
Chic Young comic strip
First comic strip appearance
Flip the Frog
Ub Iwerks - Fiddlesticks
First sound cartoon in color
Bimbo
Fleischer Studios - Hot Dog
Betty Boop's boyfriend character debuts
Mickey Mouse (Comics)
Disney - First comic strip
Mickey's first newspaper comic appearance
Books & Literature
The Maltese Falcon
Dashiell Hammett
ClassicNoir
As I Lay Dying
William Faulkner
ClassicNovel
The Murder at the Vicarage
Agatha Christie (First Miss Marple)
MysteryDebut
The Little Engine That Could
Watty Piper
Children'sClassic
Nancy Drew (First 3 Books)
Carolyn Keene - Secret of the Old Clock, Hidden Staircase, Bungalow Mystery
MysteryYA
Civilization and Its Discontents
Sigmund Freud
Psychology
Cimarron
Edna Ferber
PulitzerWestern
Vile Bodies
Evelyn Waugh
SatireBritish
The 42nd Parallel
John Dos Passos (USA Trilogy pt 1)
ModernistNovel
Swallows and Amazons
Arthur Ransome
Children'sAdventure
The Cat Who Went to Heaven
Elizabeth Coatsworth
NewberyChildren's
Angel Pavement
J.B. Priestley
NovelBritish
The Apes of God
Wyndham Lewis
SatireModernist
Films & Shorts
All Quiet on the Western Front
Lewis Milestone - Best Picture Winner
OscarWar
The Blue Angel
Marlene Dietrich breakthrough
ClassicDrama
Anna Christie
Greta Garbo's first talkie - "Gimme a whiskey"
MilestoneDrama
The Divorcee
Norma Shearer - Best Actress Oscar
OscarPre-Code
Morocco
Josef von Sternberg / Marlene Dietrich / Gary Cooper
RomanceDrama
Animal Crackers
Marx Brothers
ComedyMusical
Hell's Angels
Howard Hughes / Jean Harlow debut
WarAction
Min and Bill
Marie Dressler - Best Actress Oscar
OscarDrama
The Big Trail
John Wayne's first starring role
WesternDebut
Murder!
Alfred Hitchcock
ThrillerMystery
Dizzy Dishes
Fleischer - Betty Boop debut
AnimationDebut
The Chain Gang
Disney - Pluto debut
AnimationMickey
King of Jazz
Bing Crosby's film debut
MusicalDebut
Soup to Nuts
Early Three Stooges appearance
ComedyDebut
Another Fine Mess
Laurel and Hardy
ComedyShort
L'Âge d'Or
Luis Buñuel - Surrealist masterpiece
Art FilmSurrealist
People on Sunday
Robert Siodmak / Billy Wilder
GermanDebut
Westfront 1918
G.W. Pabst - WWI drama
WarGerman
Fiddlesticks
Ub Iwerks - Flip the Frog debut
First Color SoundAnimation
Hot Dog
Fleischer - Bimbo debut
AnimationDebut
The Picnic
Disney - Pluto as "Rover"
AnimationMickey
Music
Georgia on My Mind
Hoagy Carmichael / Stuart Gorrell
StandardJazz
I Got Rhythm
George & Ira Gershwin
StandardJazz
Embraceable You
George & Ira Gershwin
StandardJazz
But Not for Me
George & Ira Gershwin
StandardJazz
Body and Soul
Johnny Green
StandardJazz
On the Sunny Side of the Street
Jimmy McHugh / Dorothy Fields
StandardJazz
Happy Days Are Here Again
Milton Ager (became FDR's campaign song)
IconicPop
Puttin' on the Ritz
Irving Berlin
StandardPop
Dream a Little Dream of Me
Fabian Andre / Wilbur Schwandt
StandardPop
Beyond the Blue Horizon
Richard Whiting (from Monte Carlo)
FilmPop
Time on My Hands
Vincent Youmans
StandardJazz
Three Little Words
Harry Ruby / Bert Kalmar
StandardPop
Sound Recordings (1925)
Yes Sir, That's My Baby
Gene Austin - 7 weeks at #1
HitRecording
I'll See You in My Dreams
Isham Jones - 7 weeks at #1
HitRecording
Tea for Two
Marion Harris
StandardRecording
St. Louis Blues
Bessie Smith with Louis Armstrong
JazzHistoric
Sweet Georgia Brown
Ben Bernie Orchestra
StandardRecording
If You Knew Susie
Eddie Cantor
VaudevilleRecording
Plays & Theater
Private Lives
Noël Coward
ClassicComedy
The Green Pastures
Marc Connelly - Pulitzer Prize
PulitzerDrama
Girl Crazy
George & Ira Gershwin musical
MusicalBroadway
The Decision (Die Maßnahme)
Bertolt Brecht (German)
DramaPolitical
Once in a Lifetime
Moss Hart & George S. Kaufman
ComedySatire
Strike Up the Band
George & Ira Gershwin
MusicalSatire
Radio Programs
Death Valley Days
NBC Blue - Sept 30, 1930
WesternDrama
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
NBC Blue - Oct 20, 1930
MysteryDrama
Lowell Thomas and the News
CBS - Sept 29, 1930
NewsFirst Daily
The First Nighter Program
NBC Blue - Nov 27, 1930
DramaAnthology
Little Orphan Annie
WGN Chicago - 1930
Children'sSerial
Walter Winchell
CBS - May 12, 1930
GossipNews
The Lutheran Hour
CBS - Oct 2, 1930
ReligiousTalk
The Cuckoo Hour
NBC Blue - Jan 1, 1930
ComedyVariety
Ben Bernie, The Old Maestro
NBC Blue - Jan 17, 1930
MusicVariety
Clara, Lu 'n' Em
WGN Chicago - June 16, 1930
First SoapDrama
The American School of the Air
CBS - Feb 4, 1930
EducationalChildren's
Floyd Gibbons News
NBC Red - Feb 24, 1930
NewsFirst NBC
Photographs & Visual Art
News Photos of 1930
AP, UPI, News Services
DocumentaryNews
Depression-Era Documentation
Various photographers
HistoricSocial
Hollywood Publicity Stills
Studio photographers
PortraitCelebrity
Early Aviation Photography
Various - Lindbergh era
AviationDocumentary
Magazines & Periodicals
Fortune Magazine
Launched February 1930 - Time Inc.
DebutBusiness
Astounding Stories
January 1930 - Clayton Magazines
DebutSci-Fi Pulp
TIME Magazine 1930 Issues
Time Inc.
NewsWeekly
The Saturday Evening Post
1930 Issues - Norman Rockwell covers
AmericanaFiction
The New Yorker 1930
Condé Nast - Literary & Satire
LiteraryCulture
Vogue 1930 Issues
Condé Nast
FashionArt
Black Mask 1930
Hammett's Maltese Falcon conclusion
DetectivePulp
Weird Tales 1930
H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard stories
HorrorPulp
Amazing Stories 1930
Hugo Gernsback - Sci-Fi pioneer
Sci-FiPulp
National Geographic 1930
National Geographic Society
ScienceExploration
Popular Mechanics 1930
Hearst
TechnologyDIY
Modern Mechanics 1930
Fawcett Publications
TechnologyScience
Games
Wahoo
Appalachian marble game - 1930
Board GameClassic
Battleship (Paper Version)
Pad-and-pencil game published 1930s
StrategyClassic
Contract Bridge Rules
Standardized 1930 - Vanderbilt
Card GameRules
1930 Jigsaw Puzzles
Various publishers - Depression craze
PuzzleArt
Betty Boop Note:

A horror film "Boop" is already in production for release after the character enters public domain.

2027
Works from 1931 + Sound Recordings from 1926
1 YEAR AWAY
January 1, 2027
Iconic Characters & Monsters
Dracula (1931 Film)
Universal Pictures / Bela Lugosi
The iconic film portrayal. Novel already public domain.
Frankenstein's Monster (1931)
Universal Pictures / Boris Karloff
Note: Jack Pierce makeup design was copyrighted separately
The Shadow
Walter B. Gibson - The Living Shadow
First pulp novel appearance
Babar
Jean de Brunhoff (French)
The Story of Babar in original French
Books & Literature
The Waves
Virginia Woolf
ClassicModernist
The Living Shadow
Walter B. Gibson (First Shadow novel)
PulpDebut
The Good Earth
Pearl S. Buck
PulitzerNovel
Films - The Golden Year of Horror
Dracula
Tod Browning / Bela Lugosi
HorrorClassic
Frankenstein
James Whale / Boris Karloff
HorrorClassic
City Lights
Charlie Chaplin
ClassicComedy
M
Fritz Lang
ClassicThriller
Little Caesar
Edward G. Robinson
GangsterPre-Code
The Public Enemy
James Cagney
GangsterPre-Code
Radio Programs (1931 debuts)
Myrt and Marge
CBS - Nov 2, 1931
Soap OperaDrama
Clara, Lu 'n' Em (National)
NBC Blue - Jan 27, 1931
First National SoapDrama
Little Orphan Annie (National)
NBC Blue - April 6, 1931
Children'sSerial
The March of Time
CBS - March 6, 1931
NewsDocumentary
Magazines & Periodicals (1931)
Everyday Science and Mechanics
Renamed 1931 - Gernsback
TechnologyDIY
Weird Tales 1931
Clark Ashton Smith, Lovecraft stories
HorrorPulp
The Shadow Magazine
Street & Smith - April 1931
DebutPulp
Black Mask 1931
Dashiell Hammett stories
DetectiveNoir
Universal Monsters Note:

While the 1931 films enter public domain, Universal has separately trademarked specific makeup designs. The Mummy (2028), Invisible Man (2029), and Bride of Frankenstein (2031) will follow.

2028
Works from 1932 + Sound Recordings from 1927
3 YEARS AWAY
January 1, 2028
Iconic Characters & Monsters
The Mummy (Imhotep)
Universal Pictures / Boris Karloff
The iconic bandaged monster. Concept is ancient but this portrayal is 1932.
Goofy
Disney - Mickey's Revue
Originally "Dippy Dawg" - Mickey's clumsy friend debuts
Johnny Weissmuller's Tarzan
MGM - Tarzan the Ape Man
The definitive film Tarzan. Character itself already PD.
Books & Literature
Brave New World
Aldous Huxley
ClassicDystopia
Light in August
William Faulkner
NovelSouthern
The Thin Man
Dashiell Hammett
MysteryNoir
Cold Comfort Farm
Stella Gibbons
SatireComedy
Films
The Mummy
Karl Freund / Boris Karloff
HorrorUniversal
Scarface
Howard Hawks / Paul Muni
GangsterPre-Code
Tarzan the Ape Man
Johnny Weissmuller / Maureen O'Sullivan
AdventureClassic
Grand Hotel
Best Picture Winner - All-Star Cast
OscarDrama
Freaks
Tod Browning
HorrorCult
Horse Feathers
Marx Brothers
ComedyClassic
Trouble in Paradise
Ernst Lubitsch
ComedyRomance
Vampyr
Carl Theodor Dreyer
HorrorArt Film
Shanghai Express
Josef von Sternberg / Marlene Dietrich
DramaPre-Code
The Music Box
Laurel and Hardy - Oscar Winner
OscarShort
Radio Programs (1932 debuts)
The Jack Benny Program
NBC Blue - May 2, 1932
ComedyVariety
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
CBS - Nov 7, 1932
First Sci-FiSerial
Fred Allen Show
CBS - Oct 23, 1932
ComedyVariety
Burns and Allen
CBS - Feb 15, 1932
ComedyDuo
The Eddie Cantor Show
NBC - Sept 1932
#1 RatedComedy
Tom Mix Ralston Straight Shooters
NBC - Sept 25, 1932
WesternChildren's
Magazines & Periodicals (1932)
Modern Mechanix and Inventions
Renamed July 1932 - Fawcett
TechnologyDIY
Doc Savage Magazine
Street & Smith - 1933
PulpAdventure
Weird Tales 1932
Robert E. Howard's Conan stories
Conan DebutPulp
Black Mask 1932
Hard-boiled detective fiction
DetectiveNoir
2029
Works from 1933 + Sound Recordings from 1928
4 YEARS AWAY
January 1, 2029
Iconic Characters & Monsters
King Kong
RKO Pictures - Merian C. Cooper
The 1933 film. Novel (1932) already PD. Character rights complex.
The Invisible Man
Universal Pictures / Claude Rains
H.G. Wells novel already PD. This is the film portrayal.
The Lone Ranger
WXYZ Radio - George Trendle
First radio broadcast - "Hi-Yo, Silver!"
Books & Literature
Lost Horizon
James Hilton
ClassicAdventure
The Shape of Things to Come
H.G. Wells
Sci-FiDystopia
Miss Lonelyhearts
Nathanael West
NovelSatire
Films - Monster Movie Landmark Year
King Kong
Merian C. Cooper / Fay Wray
ClassicMonster
The Invisible Man
James Whale / Claude Rains
HorrorUniversal
Duck Soup
Marx Brothers
ComedyClassic
42nd Street
Busby Berkeley
MusicalClassic
Cavalcade
Best Picture Winner
OscarDrama
Gold Diggers of 1933
Busby Berkeley
MusicalPre-Code
Sons of the Desert
Laurel and Hardy
ComedyClassic
Three Little Pigs
Disney - Silly Symphony
AnimationOscar
Radio Programs (1933 debuts)
The Lone Ranger
WXYZ Detroit - Jan 30, 1933
IconicWestern
The Romance of Helen Trent
CBS - Oct 30, 1933
Soap OperaDrama
Ma Perkins
NBC - Dec 4, 1933
Soap OperaDrama
Jack Armstrong, the All-American Boy
CBS - July 31, 1933
Children'sAdventure
Easy Aces
NBC Blue - Oct 1933
ComedySitcom
The Goldbergs (National)
NBC - Nov 1933
ComedySitcom
Magazines & Periodicals (1933)
Newsweek
Launched February 17, 1933
DebutNews
Esquire
Launched October 1933
DebutMen's
Doc Savage Magazine
Street & Smith - March 1933
DebutPulp
Black Mask 1933
Raymond Chandler debut story
Chandler DebutNoir
G-8 and His Battle Aces
Popular Publications - Oct 1933
AviationPulp
The Spider Magazine
Popular Publications - Oct 1933
PulpHero
King Kong Rights Note:

The 1932 novelization is already public domain (copyright not renewed). The 1933 film enters PD in 2029, but character trademark rights remain complex due to the 1976 "Cooper Judgment."

2030
Works from 1934 + Sound Recordings from 1929
5 YEARS AWAY
January 1, 2030
Iconic Characters
Donald Duck
Disney - The Wise Little Hen
Disney's famous angry duck makes his debut
Flash Gordon
Alex Raymond - King Features
First comic strip appearance
Li'l Abner
Al Capp - Comic Strip
Satirical hillbilly comic debuts
Books & Literature
Murder on the Orient Express
Agatha Christie
ClassicMystery
Tender Is the Night
F. Scott Fitzgerald
ClassicNovel
Tropic of Cancer
Henry Miller
NovelBanned
I, Claudius
Robert Graves
HistoricalNovel
Appointment in Samarra
John O'Hara
NovelAmerican
Films - The "Big Five" Oscar Year
It Happened One Night
Frank Capra / Clark Gable / Claudette Colbert
Big Five OscarsComedy
The Thin Man
W.S. Van Dyke / William Powell / Myrna Loy
ClassicMystery
The Black Cat
Boris Karloff / Bela Lugosi
HorrorUniversal
The Gay Divorcee
Fred Astaire / Ginger Rogers
MusicalRomance
Cleopatra
Cecil B. DeMille / Claudette Colbert
EpicPre-Code
The Wise Little Hen
Disney - Donald Duck debut
AnimationDebut
Of Human Bondage
Bette Davis breakthrough role
DramaClassic
Babes in Toyland
Laurel and Hardy
MusicalFantasy
Radio Programs (1934 debuts)
Major Bowes Amateur Hour
WHN New York - 1934
Talent ShowVariety
Lux Radio Theatre
NBC Blue - Oct 14, 1934
DramaAnthology
The Adventures of Gracie
CBS - Sept 19, 1934
ComedyBurns & Allen
Hollywood Hotel
CBS - Oct 5, 1934
MusicVariety
The Kraft Music Hall
NBC - June 26, 1934
MusicBing Crosby
The Singing Lady
NBC Blue - 1934
Children'sMusic
Magazines & Periodicals (1934)
Flash Gordon Comics
King Features - Jan 7, 1934
DebutComics
Famous Funnies
Eastern Color - July 1934
First Comic BookComics
Thrilling Wonder Stories
Standard Magazines - 1934
Sci-FiPulp
Operator #5
Popular Publications - April 1934
SpyPulp
Dime Detective Magazine 1934
Popular Publications
DetectivePulp
Esquire 1934
Hemingway, Fitzgerald stories
LiteraryMen's
It Happened One Night Note:

First film to win all "Big Five" Academy Awards (Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Screenplay). Only two other films have achieved this: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and Silence of the Lambs (1991).

Future Public Domain Highlights

Year Works From Notable Entries
2031 1935 Bride of Frankenstein, Top Hat, Porky Pig debut, A Night at the Opera
2032 1936 Modern Times, Gone with the Wind (novel), Flash Gordon serial, Mr. Deeds
2033 1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Daffy Duck debut, The Hobbit, Lost Horizon
2034 1938 Superman debut, Bringing Up Baby, The Adventures of Robin Hood
2035 1939 Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Batman debut, Stagecoach

Public Domain Resources

Project Gutenberg
gutenberg.org
Over 70,000 free ebooks in EPUB, Kindle, HTML, and plain text formats.
ebooks70k+ books
Standard Ebooks
standardebooks.org
Beautifully formatted, carefully proofread public domain ebooks.
curatedhigh-quality
Internet Archive
archive.org
Massive digital library with millions of free books, movies, software, and music.
booksfilmsaudio
Librivox
librivox.org
Free public domain audiobooks read by volunteers worldwide.
audiobooksmp3
IMSLP / Petrucci Library
imslp.org
Largest collection of free public domain sheet music - 650,000+ scores.
sheet musicclassical
Public Domain Review
publicdomainreview.org
Curated essays and collections exploring public domain works.
essayscurated