Since yesterday (January 1st), many artistic works from 1929 have been freely available for use in the United States. This date is celebrated with a prominent list of the so-called “Public Domain Day”.
This year’s program in the USA includes the beginnings of the Belgian comic icon “Tintin” aka Tintin, Disney’s legendary bone man short film “The Skeleton Dance”, Ernest Hemingway’s “A Farewell to Arms” and the first English translation of “All Quiet on the Western Front”; The original German text “Nothing New in the West” by Erich Maria Remarque became freely available last year. Plus the original of the musical song “Singing In The Rain”, which only became known worldwide in the 1952 film with Gene Kelly.
Music recordings differ from this rule in America
The copyright rules in the USA are quite tricky in detail. But in principle the following applies there: artistic productions from 1929 were protected by copyright for 95 years, i.e. until the end of 2024. At the beginning of 2025, the corresponding “exploitation rights” expired.
Music recordings differ from this regulation in America. A term of 100 years applies. Works that were first published in 1925 are now in the public domain in the USA.
Europe works differently again: Here, things are counted according to the death of the author. Works of fine art, music or literature can only be used freely 70 years after death. The example of Brecht composer Kurt Weill, who died in 1950 (“The Threepenny Opera”), also shows that individual orchestral recordings still enjoy a longer period of protection.
As Jennifer Jenkins, director of Duke Law School’s Center For The Study Of The Public Domain, explains on the institute’s website, US copyright protection has continued to expand.
So what’s in the public domain now?
“Originally, works from 1929 were scheduled to enter the public domain in 1985 after a 56-year run. Then that date was pushed back to 2005, meaning 75 years of copyright protection. And before that could happen, the US Congress hit another 20-year pause button, extending the copyright term to 95 years. Now the wait is over. “
So what’s in the public domain now? Last year was all about Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, as the first version of these characters – which appeared in the 1928 short film “Steamboat Willie” – was made available for free use. At the time, the Disney company quickly made it clear that the more modern and well-known Mickey versions would be protected for many years to come.
A similar situation could arise with the spinach sailor Popeye, who first appeared as a character in the “Comic Thimble Theater” on January 17, 1929. This early version alone – and not the Popeye that appeared in cartoons five years later – is now in the public domain. Nevertheless, the original figure is now available if a retro or mash-up film production wants to use it.
Other well-known works at Public Domain Day 2025 include Dashiell Hammett’s The Red Harvest and The Maltese Falcon, Hitchcock’s first sound film Blackmail from 1929, German director GW Pabst’s Pandora’s Box starring Louise Brooks, Artworks by surrealists Salvador Dali and René Magritte, plus Virginia Wolfe’s “A Room of One’s Own” and song material from the year 1929 by Louis Armstrong and George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” (!).
Tom and Jerry and Bugs Bunny in 2036
“In 2025 we will get the first versions of Mickey and Minnie and Popeye and Tintin (plus the dog Snowy, who is called “Struppi” in this country, author’s note)writes expert Jenkins. “In the coming years, a whole host of new characters will enter the public domain: Betty Boop and Pluto, originally called Rover, in 2026. Goofy in 2028 (originally called “Dippy Dawg”), Mary Poppins and Donald Duck in 2030, and Superman then 2034, Batman in 2035, Tom and Jerry and Bugs Bunny in 2036 and Wonder Woman in 2037.”