January 1st, 2025 marks a significant moment for culture and creativity as numerous iconic works from 1929 and 1924 (for sound recordings) officially enter the U.S. public domain. This means that copyrights on thousands of films, songs, books, and characters will expire, making them freely available for public use, adaptation, and sharing.
This annual event, driven by U.S. copyright law’s 95-year term limit (with some exceptions for sound recordings), unlocks a wealth of creative material, fueling new interpretations and ensuring these works remain relevant for future generations.
As Jennifer Jenkins, director of Duke’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain explains,
“Copyright’s awesome … but the fact that rights eventually expire, that’s a good thing, too, because that’s the wellspring for creativity.”
The expiration of these copyrights allows for remakes, spin-offs, and other adaptations, a trend recently exemplified by horror films featuring Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh, who entered the public domain in 2024 and 2023, respectively. This trend is set to continue with reports of multiple Popeye slasher films already in development. However, Jenkins notes that while these “buzzworthy” adaptations generate attention, the most enduring uses of public domain works tend to be more thoughtful and impactful, citing examples like West Side Story (based on Romeo & Juliet), adaptations of Jane Austen’s Emma, Percival Everett’s James (a retelling of Huckleberry Finn), and Wicked (a prequel to The Wizard of Oz).
The impact of public domain extends beyond big-budget productions. It empowers individual artists, musicians, and educators to engage with these works in personal and meaningful ways, fostering a renewed appreciation for these cultural artifacts.
Here’s a closer look at some of the key works entering the public domain in 2025:
Characters:
- Popeye: The iconic sailor man, as he appeared in his 1929 debut in the Thimble Theatre comic strip, including his signature pipe, sailor outfit, anchor tattoo, and sarcastic personality. It’s important to note that elements developed later, like his spinach-fueled strength (introduced in 1932), may not yet be in the public domain.
- Tintin: The intrepid young reporter and his dog Snowy, in their original 1929 form. Notably, Tintin enters the U.S. public domain significantly earlier than in the European Union, where copyright extends 70 years past the creator’s death (Hergé died in 1983).
Films:
The year 1929 marked a pivotal shift in cinema with the advent of sound. Many significant films from this era will enter the public domain, including:
- The Wild Party: Clara Bow’s first “talkie.”
- The Cocoanuts: The Marx Brothers’ first feature film.
- Early sound films from renowned directors: Alfred Hitchcock’s Blackmail, John Ford’s The Black Watch, and Cecil B. DeMille’s Dynamite.
- The Broadway Melody: The first sound film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
- Walt Disney’s The Skeleton Dance: The first of the Silly Symphony shorts.
- Hallelujah: King Vidor’s groundbreaking film with an all-Black cast.
- On With the Show: The first all-talking, all-color, feature-length film.
- Several early Mickey Mouse animations, including The Karnival Kid, featuring Mickey’s first spoken words (“Hot dogs! Hot dogs!”) and the introduction of his signature white gloves.
Books:
Literature from 1929 also sees a significant release into the public domain:
- A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway.
- The first English translation of All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque.
- Detective mysteries: Red Harvest and The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett, The Roman Hat Mystery by Ellery Queen, and Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie.
- Literary debuts: Cup of Gold by John Steinbeck and A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes.
- A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
Musical Compositions:
A range of influential musical works will become freely available:
- “Singin’ in the Rain” by Arthur Freed.
- “An American in Paris” by George Gershwin.
- “Bolero” by Maurice Ravel.
- “Happy Days Are Here Again” by Jack Yellen.
- “What Is This Thing Called Love?” by Cole Porter.
- “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” (the Joseph Burke version).
It is important to note that this applies to the musical composition (the music and lyrics) and not necessarily specific recordings of those songs.
Sound Recordings:
Under the Music Modernization Act of 2018, sound recordings have a 100-year copyright term. Recordings from 1924 entering the public domain include:
- Marian Anderson’s “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen.”
- George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.”
- Jelly Roll Morton’s “Shreveport Stomp.”
- Clara Smith’s “Deep Blue Sea Blues.”
- Louis Armstrong and Clarence Williams’ Blue Five’s “Everybody Loves My Baby (But My Baby Don’t Love Nobody But Me).”
The public domain provides a vital resource for creativity, education, and cultural preservation. The works entering the public domain in 2025 offer a rich tapestry of artistic expression ready to be rediscovered and reimagined.
