2022 in public domain

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2022 saw many works enter the public domain on January 1, but copyright rules are different in every country. Public domain means a creator’s rights have expired and the work can be used freely. Here’s a simple, easy-to-understand version of what happened and which famous works entered public domain in 2022.

Copyright lengths vary by country
- In most of Europe, the rule is life plus 70 years after the creator’s death. There are exceptions: Belarus uses life plus 50, and Spain has life plus 80 for creators who died before 1987.
- Some countries have shorter terms (often life plus 50 or 60). Australia moved to life plus 70 in 2004, but the change isn’t retroactive.
- Spain, Colombia, and Equatorial Guinea have life plus 80 for certain creators.
- The United States has its own rules, which include special provisions for works published in certain years and for sound recordings.

What entered the public domain in the United States in 2022
- Works published in 1926 (they became public domain on January 1, 2022).
- Notable books: Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne; The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway; Enough Rope by Dorothy Parker; The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes; The Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence; Bambi, A Life in the Woods by Felix Salten; Sand and Foam by Kahlil Gibran; The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie; Show Boat by Edna Ferber; Soldiers’ Pay by William Faulkner; My Mortal Enemy by Willa Cather; The Plumed Serpent by D. H. Lawrence; Notes on Democracy by H. L. Mencken; The Castle by Franz Kafka (in its original German).
- Notable firsts: The Mary Poppins character entered the public domain through the short story “Mary Poppins and the Match Men.”
- Notable films: For Heaven’s Sake; Battling Butler; The Son of the Sheik; The Temptress; Moana (a Samoa docufiction); Faust; So This Is Paris; Don Juan (first Vitaphone sound film); The Cohens and Kellys; The Winning of Barbara Worth.
- Notable songs and sheet music: Sheet music published in 1926 entered the public domain (including songs like Bye Bye Blackbird, Snag It, Black Bottom Stomp, Someone to Watch Over Me, Are You Lonesome Tonight?, and the Hawaiian Wedding Song, also known as Ke Kali Nei Au).
- Sound recordings published before 1923 entered the public domain in 2022 under the Music Modernization Act. Examples of artists and performances released before 1923 include Mamie Smith, Ethel Waters, Sophie Tucker, Jelly Roll Morton, and many others.
- Unpublished works by authors who died in 1951 also entered the public domain.

Other noteworthy items mentioned
- In 2022, the AI-generated Théâtre D’opéra Spatial artwork was created and won a major art prize, but the U.S. Copyright Office said it did not qualify for copyright because it was predominantly not created by humans, so it fell into the public domain.
- Minecraft’s End Poem, written by Julian Gough, was released into the public domain under Creative Commons CC0 1.0.
- Kevin Rose announced that all Moonbird NFTs would enter the public domain, though in April 2024 they announced plans to reinstate copyright.

Summary
- Public domain status depends on country rules, which can vary widely. In many places, works become public domain 70 years after the creator’s death, but there are many exceptions.
- 2022 marked a big year for public domain, especially in the United States with works from 1926 and pre-1923 sound recordings. It also saw many classic works entering public domain around the world, making them freely usable in more places.