Public Domain Day
Public Domain Day: what it is and why it matters
Public Domain Day (PDD) marks when copyrights expire and works enter the public domain. It happens every January 1 in many countries, but exactly which works become public domain depends on each country’s laws. In many places, copyright lasts 70 years after the author dies, so works by authors who died around 1956 will become public domain on January 1, 2027.
What you can do with public domain works:
- Read, copy, share, and freely use them.
- Adapt, remix, or build upon them for new creations without needing permission.
Key points:
- Public domain status is not the same in every country. A work can be public domain in one place but not in another.
- The United States has had different timing for new public domain entries due to copyright law changes, so the yearly list can vary from other countries.
Recent milestones and examples:
- 2024: Works published in 1928 entered the U.S. public domain, including Steamboat Willie (the first Mickey Mouse cartoon). Some rights, like trademarks, may still apply to characters.
- 2022: Thousands of sound recordings from before 1923 entered the public domain in the U.S. under the CLASSICS Act.
- 2025: Works published in 1929 joined the U.S. public domain.
- 2027: Works by authors who died in 1956 will enter the public domain on January 1.
Public Domain Day is celebrated worldwide with events by libraries, universities, and cultural groups to highlight works that are now free to use.
If you’d like, I can list the specific works entering the public domain this year for your country.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 02:55 (CET).