In addition to New Year's Day, January 1st was Public Domain Day 2025! This is when the copyright to a bunch of older works finally expires in the US and these works enter the public domain, making them free for everyone. This day is significant even if you don't live in the US, since US corporations are so powerful that other countries often find themselves observing US copyright law just to stay on the good side of these massive companies.

US copyright law was originally only 7 years, with an ability to extend it for another 7. The idea was people could profit from their creations for awhile, but then it would be given to everyone. This was in recognition that society benefits from a large public domain and that the creator of works also likely was inspired in their creation by public domain works, making their creation not entirely their own. Having a short protection period was also to motivate creators to get back out there and keep creating.

Unfortunately corporation stepped in a bribed the US government to slowly increase the copyright length to an incredible 95 years. It's actually potentially worse than that for newer works: anything published from 1978 onward is lifetime + 70 years. That sucks, but we aren't quite affected by that one yet. Disney has been the primary pushed of this insane copyright length, which is incredibly ironic given that most of the movies that made them famous were taken entirely from the public domain with very little change (basically just giving them happy endings instead of the original not so happy endings).

Anyway, this year works from 1929 entered the publish domain. Yay!!

Long time readers know I've been covering this day for the past few years. Last year was extra special because Mickey Mouse finally entered the public domain! Well, at least his first short, Steamboat Willie, did. So let's look at some of the biggest things entering this year.

Books

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
The first English translation (by Arthur Wesley Wheen) of All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
Is Sex Necessary? Or, Why You Feel the Way You Do by E. B. White and James Thurber

The title of Faulkner's book was taken from the public domain Macbeth, specifically the famous line Life…is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing. Another example of how the public domain inspires creation and is a very important thing.

Film

The Cocoanuts by the Marx Brothers (their first film!)
Welcome Danger, the first full sound comedy staring Harold Lloyd
A dozen more Mickey shorts: Jungle Rhythm, The Plowboy, The Barn Dance, Mickey's Choo Choo, Mickey's Follies, The Barnyard Battle, When The Cat's Away, The Karnival Kid, Wild Waves, The Haunted House, The Jazz Fool, The Opry House. See all the shorts here.

Characters

The first version of Popeye enters the public domain. This version didn't yet feature his super power as coming from spinach, unfortunately, but it's a start.

Ok, this first version of Popeye was a little rough around the edges, but it was the beginning of something great. Popeye would go on to be the most popular character in the US (much more so than anything Disney did) for many years.

Songs

These are just the compositions, unfortunately. Actual performances have a slightly longer copyright, so the original performances of these songs are still under copyright. But hey, the words and melodies are free, so you can sing them yourself in a Youtube video if you want!

Singin’ in the Rain, lyrics by Arthur Freed, music by Nacio Herb Brown
Happy Days Are Here Again, lyrics by Jack Yellen, music by Milton Ager (the theme song for Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1932 presidential campaign)
You Were Meant for Me, lyrics by Arthur Freed, music by Nacio Herb Brown
Ain’t Misbehavin’, lyrics by Andy Paul Razaf, music by Thomas W. (“Fats”) Waller & Harry Brooks (from the musical Hot Chocolates)

Sound Recordings

Like I said, the copyright length for sound recordings is a bit longer. Recordings from 1924 entered the public domain this year. For example

California Here I Come, recorded by Al Jolson

Well there are a few that jump out at me anyway, but there are lots more. See this video for more examples

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David is an American teacher and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. He blogs here and at laspina.org. Write him on Twitter or Mastodon.