At the beginning of the year, a new batch of creative works have entered the public domain. In 2025, materials that were copyrighted in 1929, as well as sound recordings from 1924, are now available for adaptation, reuse, copying, and sharing. The Center for Public Domain at Duke Law School has compiled a list of some of the notable properties that have entered the public domain this year.
This year is significant for film enthusiasts as several iconic directors released their first sound projects in 1929. Alfred Hitchcock’s Blackmail and Cecil B. DeMille’s Dynamite are some of the notable debuts. Additionally, 1929 saw Walt Disney directing the beloved Skeleton Dance animated short by Ub Iwerks, as well as Mickey Mouse making his first appearance in a talkie. The adventurous Tintin and the original Popeye characters are now part of the public domain.
In terms of music, several classic songs have now entered the public domain. From show tunes like Singin’ in the Rain and An American in Paris to jazz standards like Ain’t Misbehavin’ and (What Did I Do To Be So) Black and Blue, and even classical hits like Boléro, there is a wide range of musical compositions now free to use. George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and Marian Anderson’s rendition of My Way’s Cloudy are just a couple of the recordings now available for adaptation.
Literature enthusiasts will also find a treasure trove of works in the public domain this year. Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon and Red Harvest, as well as Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own, Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms, Agatha Christie’s Seven Dials Mystery, and William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury are some of the titles now free to use. Rainer Maria Rilke’s original German version of Letters to a Young Poet also joins the list of works available for adaptation.
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