Happy new year to you all. This time last year, I hoped for a better 2021 compared to 2020 but that never happened. So I’m just gonna take whatever comes in 2022 and wish you all love, warmth, guidance, and strength.
Today is Public Domain Day again and that means copyrighted works from the US from 1926 are open to all. (For more information on it, we wrote about it in 2019 and 2021.) The official Public Domain Day 2022 page explains why this year is so good:
In 2022, the public domain will welcome a lot of “firsts”: the first Winnie-the-Pooh book from A. A. Milne, the first published novels from Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner, the first books of poems from Langston Hughes and Dorothy Parker. What’s more, for the first time ever, thanks to a 2018 law called the Music Modernization Act, a special category of works—sound recordings—will finally begin to join other works in the public domain. On January 1 2022, the gates will open for all of the recordings that have been waiting in the wings. Decades of recordings made from the advent of sound recording technology through the end of 1922—estimated at some 400,000 works—will be open for legal reuse.
The most notable inclusions are the original Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne (which might be subject to Disney extending the copyright), the works of Louis Armstrong, Ivor Novello, Jim Morrison, and Arnold Schoenberg, and the film Faust (directed by F. W. Murnau). Note that the works of the aforementioned creatives are only part of the public domain in countries with copyrights of “life plus 50 years” or “life plus 70 years” (see the last link in the list below for more info)
Below you will find a list of applicable works from 1926. Always remember to check works from any years prior to 1926 to make absolutely sure you follow any licence requirements (if there are any).
Lists of public domain work from 1926
- Public Domain Day 2021 (Duke University School of Law)
- What’s Entering the Public Domain in 2022: The Sun Also Rises, Winnie-the-Pooh, Buster Keaton Comedies & More
- 2022 in public domain
- Winnie-the-Pooh, Bambi, and 400,000 sound recordings enter the public domain in 2022
- Winnie the Pooh, Franz Kafka, and more are coming to the public domain in 2022
- All The Best Books Entering The Public Domain In 2022
- What Will Enter the Public Domain in 2022?
Winnie the Pooh related: Jim Cummings tells stories behind 4 fan-favorite characters he’s voiced