Nancy Drew, Betty Boop and more: 26 notable works entering the public domain in 2026

SALT LAKE CITY — Some notable characters have entered the public domain over the last few years, ranging from Mickey Mouse to Popeye to Winnie the Pooh.

It’s the case again this Thursday, as Nancy Drew, Betty Boop and the first version of what would become Pluto are among the countless creative works entering the public domain as their copyrights expire on New Year’s Day.

Most of what’s entering the realm comes from 1930, as music compositions, books, film and many other pieces of art and literature reach the end of their 95-year copyright protections. They join works like “Sinkin’ in the Bathtub” — the first cartoon in the Looney Tunes universe — that was already in the public domain because its copyright was previously not renewed.

Vintage toys of Mickey Mouse and Pluto are pictured. The first version of Mickey Mouse entered the public domain in 2024, while the original version of Pluto, first named Rover, is among the many creative works entering the public domain in 2026. (Photo: Acento Creativo, Adobe Stock)

This year’s list includes several literary classics, two Oscar-winning best pictures, some memorable songs and artwork you’ve surely seen before. It also includes recordings from 1925, as those have slightly longer protections.

So-called “Public Domain Day” is important because it offers community theaters, youth orchestras and other groups content without licensing agreements, but it also gives these creative pieces a chance for new life, saving them from being “lost to history,” said Jennifer Jenkins and James Boyle, co-directors of the Center for the Study of the Public Domain at Duke University.

“1930 was a long time ago, and the vast majority of works from that year are not commercially available. You couldn’t buy them, or even find them, if you wanted,” they wrote in an article published by the center. “When they enter the public domain in 2026, anyone can rescue them from obscurity and make them available, where we can all discover, enjoy and breathe new life into them.”

The center celebrates this every year by listing off many of the works heading into the public domain. These are 26 of the more notable works that are joining the long list in 2026.

Literature

• “As I Lay Dying” by William Faulkner. The New York Times listed this as the 35th best book of the 20th century.
• “Cimarron,” by Edna Ferber. There’s a bonus here because this book was adapted into a 1931 movie of the same name that won best picture at the 4th Academy Awards, which is also going into the public domain this year because its rights were registered in 1930.
• “Elson Basic Readers” by William H. Elson. This introduced a series featuring the characters of Dick and Jane, which were used for decades to help teach reading.
• “The Little Engine That Could” by Watty Piper (Arnold Munk).
• “The Maltese Falcon” by Dashiell Hammett. This landed 56th on the New York Times’ best books of the 20th century list.
• “The Murder at the Vicarage” by Agatha Christie. This book launches a series of other novels featuring Miss Marple that Christie would write throughout the rest of her life.
• “The Secret of the Old Clock” by Carolyn Keene (Mildred Benson). This book introduces Nancy Drew, while three other Nancy Drew books also enter the public domain this year.

Motion picture

• “All Quiet on the Western Front” directed by Carl Laemmle. This won best picture at the 3rd Academy Awards and landed at No. 54 on the American Film Institute’s “100 Greatest American Movies of All Time” list.
• “Anna Christie” directed by Clarence Brown. This featured Greta Garbo in her first speaking role.
• “Dizzy Dishes” by Fleischer Studios. This cartoon introduced the world to Betty Boop, an iconic character who would go on to appear in nearly 100 theater cartoons throughout the decade.
• “Fiddlesticks” by Ub Iwerks. This cartoon introduced Flip the Frog, as Iwerks, a former Disney Studios animator, attempted to rival the rising popularity of Mickey Mouse.
• “Free and Easy” directed by Edward Sedgwick. This featured Buster Keaton in his first speaking role.
• “King of Jazz” directed by John Murray Anderson and Walter Lantz. Bing Crosby’s the Rhythm Boys are featured in this film, marking his first on-screen performance.
• “The Big Trail” directed by Raoul Walsh and Louis R. Loeffler. This film was partially shot in Utah and featured John Wayne in his first lead role.
• “The Chain Gang” and “The Picnic” by Walt Disney. These cartoon shorts built on Mickey Mouse’s artistic design, but included the lovable dog “Rover,” which would later be renamed Pluto in 1931.

Musical compositions and recordings

Other

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.