Artistic Gifts from the Past

2026 Public Domain Arrivals

January 1st is approaching! No, I'm not talking about New Year's Day, but World Public Domain Day! As I did last year, I have researched which works will become freely available to everyone in 2026. Which films, books, comic book characters and pieces of music will now be available for public use?

Those who want detailed information can find the link to last year's article here. I invite you to take a look. I have tried to explain the process concisely.

Copyright is a complex issue. The rules can vary around the world. Generally speaking, a work is legally protected for 50–80 years after the death of its creator.

Having read comments online, I found that some people thought this period was quite long. However, I don't know what impression this gives from the creator's perspective. Ultimately, this legal right is transferred to subsequent generations or contracted institutions rather than to the creator themselves. In my opinion, a legal inheritance spanning one or two generations — currently accepted as 20–25 years, though I believe this has increased to 25–30 years — would be appropriate. I have come across others who share this view. This would provide at least 40–50 years of protection for the work. Do you think this is a reasonable period? How long do you think it is reasonable for your creations to be protected under your name?

Now, let's look at some well-known artists and works for which the copyright term has expired.

Photo by Alberto Bigoni on Unsplash

Literature

• Agatha Christie - “The Murder at the Vicarage”

• Agatha Christie (under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott) - “Giant’s Bread”

• Dashiell Hammett - “The Maltese Falcon”

• Dorothy L. Sayers - “Strong Poison”

• Elizabeth Coatsworth - “The Cat Who Went to Heaven”

• Langston Hughes - “Not Without Laughter”

• T. S. Eliot - “Ash Wednesday”

• William Faulkner - “As I Lay Dying”

  
  

Cinema

• Howard Hughes - “Hell's Angels”

• Lewis Milestone - “All Quiet on the Western Front”

  
  

Characters

• Pluto - First appeared in 1930, becoming Mickey Mouse's loyal canine companion in 1931. Early drawings are in the public domain.

• Betty Boop - Born in 1930 as “Dizzy Dishes”. Thanks to her charming design and distinctive voice, she quickly became a popular icon. To date, she has appeared in cartoons featuring ten different styles of animation. Like Pluto, her first cartoon may also enter the public domain.

  
  

Music and Sound Recordings

Some songs and sound recordings used in jazz and musical theatre are in the public domain, including some of the most influential and popular pieces from that era.

Examples are categorised as artistic expressions and provided at the bottom of this link. Further examples can be found there.

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In a world where many authors only achieve fame and success after their death, I have always found it interesting that their work is available to the public free of charge. Time passes and you become irrelevant. However, if your work is made available to everyone, it can still inspire others. These works can inspire new creations. Consider how many songs, films and books are produced today that draw inspiration from similar themes, or even the original works themselves. In this way, we relive history and continue to build our culture by looking to original works for inspiration and replacing them with new ones.