January 1st is celebrated as Public Domain Day. Each year, works that are no longer covered by copyright protection are added to the public domain. For 2025, books published in 1929 and sound recordings released in 1924 are now in the public domain and can be used to create new material without the author’s permission. These exciting new additions are now accessible to the general public.

What is Public Domain?
Public domain is a term for material which no longer has copyright protection. Artists who want to create works based on or inspired by works in the public domain no longer need the author’s (or copyright holder’s) permission. Copyright protection in the US depends on when the material was created. Works created before 1978 are under copyright protection for 95 years after publication. Works created after 1978 have protection for the creator’s life plus 70 years. Limiting copyright protection can promote creativity and encourage new works of art and writing. For instance, one of the most popular movies last year, Wicked, is based on The Wizard of Oz, a novel from the early 20th century which is in the public domain. If the Wizard of Oz had not been in the public domain, the movie Wicked (as well as the musical and novel) may not have occurred. Examples of the kind of creative work which can enter the public domain is a comic strip starring Popeye the Sailor and the novel The Maltese Falcon.

Resources on Public Domain Day
There are plenty of places on the web you can learn about new additions to the public domain. A good starting point is Duke University’s School of Law about Public domain blog . The blog has a thorough definition and a description of public domain. The site also contains a list of the most famous recent additions to public domain. Jennifer Jenkins, the co-director of Duke University’s Center for the Study of Public Domain, was interviewed by NPR about Public Domain Day. Jenkins explained the concept of public domain and what works are currently available. Jenkins also discussed the role that copyright and public domain play in encouraging creators to develop new projects and ideas.

Check out the Copyright Lately website for a comprehensive discussion about the works entering the public domain this year. The blog’s author also covers the legal context of public domain and discusses the books and movies now included in public domain. For instance, 1929 was the year when movies with sound or talkies became popular. Readers can expect insightful context to the recent additions.
The Public Domain Review is another site worth learning about the new additions to the public domain. The Public Domain Review produces essays focused on the use of public domain material. The editors put together a blog post which provides a description and commentary on a few of the famous additions to public domain. Definitely a cool resource for not just the recent additions to the public domain but for a deeper understanding of how public domain material is being used and studied.
Finally, the Internet Archives is celebrating Public Domain Day on January 22nd and invites interested individuals to attend either in person or online. The Internet Archives is also holding a contest for interested creators to upload short videos using public domain inspired material. The blog piece also covers some of the interesting additions to the public domain this year. Many of the works listed are linked to the Internet Archive for interested users to access and use.
Five Notable Titles Now Available
While there are far more additions than be covered in this post, below are a list of five notables as put together by the Center for the Study of the Public Domain:

- Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
- The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
- The Cocoanuts: (First Marx Brothers film)
- Blackmail (Alfred Hitchcock’s first film)
- The Black Watch (John Ford’s first film)
Go ahead and check them out. You might find inspiration for your next project.
Charles Gallagher is a Research and Instruction Librarian at the Catholic University of America Libraries.
References
Inskeep, Steve. “With Every New Year Comes a Slew of Artistic Works Entering the Public Domain.” NPR, NPR, 1 Jan. 2025. https://www.npr.org/2025/01/01/nx-s1-5168417/with-every-new-year-comes-a-slew-of-artistic-works-entering-the-public-domain.
Jenkins, Jennifer, and James Boyle. “Public Domain Day 2025: Duke University School of Law.” Duke Law, https://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/publicdomainday/2025/. Accessed 14 Jan. 2025.
Krebeck, Aaron. “The Maltese Falcon: A Popeye Mystery : Aaron Krebeck: Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming.” Internet Archive, 3 Jan. 2025. https://archive.org/details/maltesefalcon-apopeyemystery/mode/2up.
Linden, Grace, et al. The Public Domain Review. https://publicdomainreview.org/. Accessed 14 Jan. 2025.
Moss, Aaron. “Public Domain Day 2025 Is Coming: Here’s What to Know.” Copyright Lately, 31 Dec. 2024. https://copyrightlately.com/public-domain-2025/.