Scholarly Communication Services

Q&A About Public Domain Day and The End of Copyright

A.A. Milne’s Winnie-The-Pooh (1926) entered the public domain in 2022. How can you reuse the beloved characters or plot from this classic children’s story? (Image by W. Gobetz)

The end of copyright? That sounds scary! 

Based on current US copyright law, many works have copyright protection for 95 years after their creation. What we really mean to say about ‘the end of copyright’ is many of these works enter the public domain on January 1 each year because their copyright expires, so it is Public Domain Day (and, technically speaking, the end of their copyright).

What is Public Domain Day?

The purpose of Public Domain Day is to increase awareness of copyright and public domain and to highlight the books, films, and other works that are free of copyright protection. It is promoted by many intellectual property organizations, such as the Library of Congress, the Center for the Study of Public Domain at Duke University School of Law, and the Internet Archive.  On January 1, 2023, the following works published in 1927 will enter the public domain:

Books and Magazines:

• The Billboard (1927 and prior)
• The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Vol. I and II, by Arthur Conan-Doyle
• Death Comes for the Archbishop, by Willa Cather
• Life (1927 and prior)
• Mosquitoes, by William Faulkner
• The Saturday Evening Post (1927 and prior)

Music Compositions:

• You Scream, I Scream, All Scream for Ice Cream

Films:

• The Jazz Singer, directed by Alan Crosland
• The King of Kings, directed by Cecil B. Demille
• Metropolis, directed by Fritz Lang

What can I do with public domain works?

Whether you are a professor, instructor, or student, you can do plenty! Here are examples:

• Publications and Presentations:  use images to provide examples or illustrations.
• Teaching:  assignments, readings, translations, or labs.
• Scholarly Activities:  textual analysis, use of images, or translations.
• Creative Works:  update, revise, or make a work inspired by a public domain work.

More Information: 

• Public Domain Research Guide:  https://libguides.fau.edu/copyright/public-domain
• Copyright for Teaching and Learning – Public Domain:  https://libguides.fau.edu/copyright-for-teaching/public-domain

Image Credits:

• NYC – Donnell Library Center, Winnie-The-Pooh and Friends, by Wally Gobetz.  Permission by CC-BY-NC-ND. https://flic.kr/p/4rC5x2
• Public Domain Mark, by Creative Commons. Public Domain work.

Originality statement:  Posted on December 22, 2022 on FAU Libraries External Relations, Blog and News at https://library.fau.edu/external-relations/qa-about-public-domain-day-and-end-copyright.