For lovers of books, movies, characters, and more, Jan. 1 annually marks more than just anew year; it's also the start of new copyrighted items entering the public domain, making classic works available to be copied, shared and expanded upon.
This year's list of new works entering the public domain dates back to 1930 and includes thousands of books, characters, comics, cartoons, films, art and musical compositions. Sound recordings from 2025 are also now available for use, according to Duke Law School's Center for the Study of the Public Domain.
With beloved copyrighted works like cartoon characterBetty Boop, children's book series "Nancy Drew," and the 1930 film "All Quiet on the Western Front," which won the Oscar for Best Picture, on this year's list, here are some of the pieces you can look forward to potentially being reimagined as they enter the public domain in 2026.
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'As I Lay Dying' and 'The Maltese Falcon' among books entering public domain
Some of the most recognizable book works on this year's list include children's classics and known detective tales:
William Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying"
Dashiell Hammett's full book of "The Maltese Falcon".
Agatha Christie's first novel featuring the character Miss Marple, "The Murder at the Vicarage".
Carolyn Keene/Mildred Benson's first four "Nancy Drew" books, beginning with the beloved "The Secret of the Old Clock".
Watty Piper/Arnold Munk's childhood illustrated classic, "The Little Engine That Could".
Noël Coward's "Private Lives"
T.S. Eliot's "Ash Wednesday"
Olaf Stapledon's "Last and First Men"
Sigmund Freud's "Civilization and Its Discontents"
Elizabeth Coatsworth and Lynd Ward's"The Cat Who Went to Heaven"
See last year's list:What becomes public domain in 2025? Popeye, 'A Farewell to Arms' among the most famous
Known characters, comics and cartoons enter public domain
Betty Boop from Fleischer Studios'"Dizzy Dishes" short and other cartoons
Rover, later renamed and now commonly known as Pluto, from Disney's "The Chain Gang" and "The Picnic" films
Blondie and Dagwood from Chic Young's "Blondie" comic strips
Ub Iwerks' Flip the Frog from the film "Fiddlesticks" and other cartoons
Nine new Disney "Mickey Mouse cartoons", the first week of "Mickey Mouse comic strips", and ten new "Silly Symphonies" cartoon short films
Academy Award-winning movies enter public domain
Among the thousands of movies entering the public domain in 2026 are Oscar winners and film debuts for major actors:
"All Quiet on the Western Front," directed by Lewis Milestone and winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture
"King of Jazz," directed by John Murray Anderson and Bing Crosby's first feature-film appearance
"Cimarron," directed by Wesley Ruggles and winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture
"Animal Crackers," directed by Victor Heerman and starring the Marx Brothers
"Anna Christie," directed by Clarence Brown and featuring Greta Garbo's shift from silent films
"Hell's Angels," directed by Howard Hughes and featuring Jean Harlow's film debut
"The Big Trail,' directed by Raoul Walsh and featuring John Wayne's first leading role
"Murder!" directed by Alfred Hitchcock
"Free and Easy," directed by Edward Sedgwick and featuring Buster Keaton's first speaking role
More:Disney, OpenAI deal means you can make short videos with Mickey, R2-D2
Musical compositions, sound recordings become public works
Ditties from 1925 and 1930 are on this year's list, including:
Four songs with lyrics by Ira Gershwin and music by George Gershwin made this year's list: "I Got Rhythm","I've Got a Crush on You", "But Not for Me", and "Embraceable You".
"Georgia on My Mind," with lyrics by Stuart Gorrell and music by Hoagy Carmichael
"Dream a Little Dream of Me," with lyrics by Gus Kahn and music by Fabian Andre and Wilbur Schwandt
"The Royal Welch Fusiliers," by John Philip Sousa
"Beyond the Blue Horizon," the possible inspiration for the "Star Trek" theme song, with lyrics by Leo Robin and music by Richard A. Whiting and W. Franke Harling
"Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen," sound recorded by Marian Anderson
"Yes Sir, That's My Baby," sound recorded by Gene Austin
"The St. Louis Blues," a song recorded by Bessie Smith and featuring Louis Armstrong
"Fascinating Rhythm," sound recorded by the Paul Whiteman Orchestra
"I'll See You in My Dreams," sound recorded by Isham Jones alongside Ray Miller's Orchestra
"Everybody Loves My Baby (but My Baby Don't Love Nobody but Me)," sound recorded by Clarence Williams' Blue Five
"If I Lose, Let me Lose (Mama Don't Mind)," sound recorded by Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, and Maggie Jones
What is the public domain?
According to theMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Libraries, the public domain is "everything that is not covered by copyright."
"It is a commons of creative content that is free for anyone to use and build upon without asking permission or paying a fee," MIT Libraries says. "Copyright protects creative works for a limited time in order to incentivize creation and allow creators to profit from their work, but no one creates something from nothing."
Copyright law begins to protect a work from the moment the "author creates and fixes it in a tangible form of expression, such as on paper, in a recording, or in a digital photograph," according to theU.S. Copyright Office. The length of copyright protection varies and depends on several factors; however, generally, for most works created after 1978, protection lasts until the author dies plus 70 years, the office added.
"For anonymous works, pseudonymous works or works made for hire, the copyright term is 95 years from the year of first publication or 120 years from creation, whichever comes first," according to the office.
Kate Perez covers national trends and breaking news for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kperez@usatodayco.com or on Twitter @katecperez_.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Betty Boop, other major works enter public domain in 2026