Celebrating Public Domain Day 2026

On January 1 of each year, some copyrighted works fall into the public domain. That means, they are free for use, copying and as a basis for derivative works. Works created before 1930 are now in the public domain. Thousands of works spanning all copyright categories make up the Public Domain Class of 2026. Members of the Public Domain Class of 2026 have cultural significance spanning from notable novels to music you may have thought was already in the public domain. Here are some notable graduates.

Books:

• William Faulkner, As I Lay Dying
• Dashiell Hammett, The Maltese Falcon (the full book version)
• Carolyn Keene (pseudonym for Mildred Benson), the first four Nancy Drew books, beginning with The Secret of the Old Clock
• Watty Piper (pen name of Arnold Munk), The Little Engine That Could (the popular illustrated version, with drawings by Lois Lenski)
• William H. Elson, Elson Basic Readers (the first appearances of Dick and Jane)
• Noël Coward, Private Lives
• T.S. Eliot, Ash Wednesday
• Evelyn Waugh, Vile Bodies
• Edna Ferber, Cimarron
• Dorothy L. Sayers, Strong Poison
• Sigmund Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents (in the original German, Das Unbehagen in der Kultur)
• W. Somerset Maugham, Cakes and Ale
• Bertrand Russell, The Conquest of Happiness

Characters, Comics, Cartoons:

• Betty Boop from Fleischer Studios' Dizzy Dishes and other cartoons
• Rover (later renamed Pluto) from Disney's The Chain Gang (as an unnamed bloodhound) and The Picnic (as Rover)
• Blondie and Dagwood from the Blondie comic strips by Chic Young
• Nine new Mickey Mouse cartoons, the initial week of Mickey Mouse comic strips, and ten new Silly Symphonies cartoons from Disney

Films:

• All Quiet on the Western Front, directed by Lewis Milestone (winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture)
• Cimarron, directed by Wesley Ruggles (winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture, registered for copyright in 1930)
• Animal Crackers, directed by Victor Heerman (starring the Marx Brothers)
• Soup to Nuts, directed by Benjamin Stoloff (written by Rube Goldberg, featuring later members of The Three Stooges)
• Morocco, directed by Josef von Sternberg (starring Gary Cooper, Marlene Dietrich, and Adolphe Menjou)
• The Blue Angel (Der blaue Engel), directed by Josef von Sternberg (starring Marlene Dietrich)
• Anna Christie, directed by Clarence Brown (Greta Garbo’s first talkie)
• Hell's Angels, directed by Howard Hughes (Jean Harlow’s film debut)
• The Big Trail, directed by Raoul Walsh (John Wayne’s first leading role)
• Murder!, directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Musical Compositions:

• Four Songs - I Got Rhythm, I've Got a Crush on You, But Not for Me, and **Embraceable You** - with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, music by George Gershwin
• Georgia on My Mind, lyrics by Stuart Gorrell, music by Hoagy Carmichael
• Dream a Little Dream of Me, lyrics by Gus Kahn, music by Fabian Andre and Wilbur Schwandt
• On the Sunny Side of the Street, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, music by Jimmy McHugh
• Body and Soul, lyrics by Edward Heyman, Robert Sour, Frank Eyton, music by Johnny Green
• Just a Gigolo (the first English translation), original German lyrics by Julius Brammer, English translation by Irving Caesar, music by Leonello Casucci
• You're Driving Me Crazy, lyrics and music by Walter Donaldson
• Beyond the Blue Horizon, lyrics by Leo Robin, music by Richard A. Whiting and W. Franke Harling (possible inspiration for the Star Trek theme song)
• The Royal Welch Fusiliers, by John Philip Sousa

Sound Recordings:

• Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen, recorded by Marian Anderson
• Yes Sir, That's My Baby, recorded by Gene Austin
• Sweet Georgia Brown, recorded by Ben Bernie and His Hotel Roosevelt Orchestra
• You've Been A Good Old Wagon, recorded by Bessie Smith
• The St. Louis Blues, recorded by Bessie Smith, featuring Louis Armstrong
• Fascinating Rhythm, recorded by the Paul Whiteman Orchestra
• I'll See You in My Dreams, recorded by Isham Jones, with Ray Miller’s Orchestra
• Everybody Loves My Baby (but My Baby Don't Love Nobody but Me), recorded by Clarence Williams’ Blue Five
• If I Lose, Let me Lose (Mama Don't Mind), recorded by Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, and Maggie Jones
• A Cup of Coffee, A Sandwich and You, recorded by the Carleton Terrace Orchestra
• Manhattan, recorded by The Knickerbockers (Ben Selvin and his Orchestra)

Art:

• Piet Mondrian, Composition with Red, Blue, and Yellow
• Abel Lafleur, the Jules Rimet Cup (the original trophy of the FIFA World Cup, also known as the Victory Trophy or Coupe du Monde)
• Edward Steichen, Fashion for Vogue, October 27, 1930
• Paul Klee, Tierfreundschaft (Animal Friendship)
• José Clemente Orozco, Prometheus
• Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Composition of Circles and Overlapping Angles
• Theo Van Doesburg, Simultaneous Counter-Composition

WHY YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS; Happy New Year. May all of your creative dreams come true.

Beginning this year, this blog will be published on a reduced schedule.