Starting Jan. 1, thousands of copyrighted works from 1928 went into the public domain.
This means these materials can be shared, adapted or remixed, allowing other people to get creative with them.
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For example, Winnie the Pooh went into the public domain in 2022, leading to a horror film based on the character being released just last year.
This year, the bear’s friend Tigger also enters the public domain along with the 1928 book he was first introduced in, A.A. Milne’s “The House at Pooh Corner.”
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One of the notable characters going into the public domain this year is another popular Disney character, Mickey Mouse.
Copyrighted works go into the public domain after 95 years in the United States, so two of Mickey’s original animated shorts — “Steamboat Willie” and “Plane Crazy” — are now free from copyright.
While modern designs for characters are still owned by Disney, these black-and-white 1928 incarnations can now be used by the public.
According to Duke Law School, the following are other works that have entered into the public domain this year.
BOOKS AND PLAYS
| Title | Creator(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lady Chatterley’s Lover | D.H. Lawrence | |
| The Threepenny Opera | Bertolt Brecht | “Die Dreigroschenoper” - Original German version |
| Orlando | Virginia Woolf | |
| All Quiet on the Western Front | Erich Maria Remarque | “Im Westen nichts Neues” - Original German version |
| Dark Princess | W.E.B. Du Bois | |
| Home to Harlem | Claude McKay | |
| The House at Pooh Corner | A.A. Milne, E.H. Shepard | Introduced the character “Tigger” |
| Peter Pan; or the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up | J.M. Barrie | |
| The Well of Loneliness | Radclyffe Hall | |
| Decline and Fall | Evelyn Waugh | |
| The Mystery of the Blue Train | Agatha Christie | |
| Millions of Cats | Wanda Gag | Oldest American picture book still in print |
| West-Running Brook | Robert Frost | |
| The Front Page | Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur |
FILMS
| Title | Director(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Steamboat Willie | Walt Disney, Ub Iwerks | The silent version |
| Plane Crazy | Walt Disney, Ub Iwerks | The silent version |
| The Cameraman | Edward Sedgwick, Buster Keaton | |
| Lights of New York | Bryan Foy | Billed as “the first ‘all-talking’ picture” |
| The Circus | Charlie Chaplin | |
| The Passion of Joan of Arc | Carl Theodor Dreyer | |
| The Singing Fool | Lloyd Bacon | Follow-up to “The Jazz Singer” |
| Speedy | Ted Wilde | |
| In Old Arizona | Raoul Walsh, Irving Cummings | |
| The Man Who Laughs | Paul Leni | Features a character who inspired “The Joker” from the Batman comics |
| Should Married Men Go Home? | Leo McCarey, James Parrott | |
| The Wind | Victor Sjöström | |
| The Wedding March | Erich von Stroheim | |
| The Crowd | King Vidor | |
| The Last Command | Josef von Sternberg | Emil Jannings won the first Academy Award for Best Actor |
| Street Angel | Frank Borzage | Janet Gaynor won the first Academy Award for Best Actress |
MUSIC
| Title | Creator(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Animal Crackers | Book: George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind Lyrics and music: Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby | Starred the Marx brothers |
| Mack the Knife | Original lyrics: Bertolt Brecht Music: Kurt Weill | From “The Threepenny Opera” |
| Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love) | Cole Porter | From the musical “Paris” |
| Sonny Boy | George DeSylva, Lew Brown and Ray Henderson | From the film “The Singing Fool” |
| When You’re Smiling | Lyrics: Mark Fisher and Joe Goodwin Music: Larry Shay | |
| Empty Bed Blues | J.C. Johnson | |
| I Wanna Be Loved By You | Lyrics: Bert Kalmar Music: Herbert Stothart and Harry Ruby | From the musical “Good Boy” |
| Makin’ Whoopee! | Lyrics: Gus Khan Music: Walter Donaldson | |
| You’re My Necessity, You’re The Cream in My Coffee | George DeSylva, Lew Brown and Ray Henderson | From the musical “Hold Everything!” |
| I Can’t Give You Anything But Love, Baby! | Lyrics: Dorothy Fields Music: James Francis | |
| Ramona | Lyrics: L. Wolfe Gilbert Music: Mabel Wayne | |
| There’s a Rainbow ‘Round My Shoulder | Al Jolson, Billy Rose and Dave Dreyer | From the film “The Singing Fool” |
| Beau Koo Jack | Lyrics: Walter Melrose Music: Alex Hill and Louis Armstrong | |
| Pick Pocket Blues | Bessie Smith |
SOUND RECORDINGS FROM 1923
| Title | Recorded by |
|---|---|
| Charleston | James P. Johnson |
| Yes! We Have No Bananas | Billy Jones; Furman and Nash; Eddie Cantor; Belle Baker; The Lanin Orchestra |
| Who’s Sorry Now | Lewis James; The Happy Six; the Original Memphis Five |
| Down Hearted Blues | Bessie Smith; Tennessee Ten |
| Lawdy, Lawdy Blue | Ida Cox |
| Southern Blues | Ma Rainey |
| Moonshine Blues | Ma Rainey |
| Down South Blues | Hannah Sylvester; The Virginians |
| Wolverine Blues | The Benson Orchestra of Chicago |
| Tin Roof Blues | The New Orleans Rhythm Kings |
| That American Boy of Mine | Paul Whiteman and his orchestra |
| Parade of the Wooden Soldiers | Paul Whiteman and his orchestra |
| Dipper Mouth Blues | King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, feat. Louis Armstrong |
| Froggie More | King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, feat. Louis Armstrong |
| Bambalina | The Ray Miller Orchestra |
| Swingin’ Down the Lane | The Isham Jones Orchestra; The Shannon Four; The Columbians |
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