Born on January 1
Public Domain Day
New year, newly free stories.
Next: January 1, 2027
Where it comes from
Copyright does not last for ever. In most countries it runs to the end of a calendar year, so every 1 January a fresh batch of books, films, music and art passes into the public domain, free for anyone to read, share, perform and adapt.
How it's celebrated
Libraries, archives, universities and online collections publish lists of the authors and works that have just become free, and readers go looking for old favourites to download or reuse. In the United States, the Center for the Study of the Public Domain at Duke University publishes a list each year.
Did you know
In the United States, works published before 1978 are protected for 95 years, so they enter the public domain on 1 January after their 95th year.
Read the full story of Public Domain Day
Also on this day
- New Year's Day · A clean page.
Star sign
Capricorn · December 22 – January 19 · Earth sign
Patient and ambitious, climbing steadily to the top.