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  tombert
  It sucks that the copyright period in the US is so ridiculously long, but it still makes me happy to see stuff finally entering the public domain again.I don't care much about Betty Boop and I don't really care about Pluto and Mickey all that much, but I'm very excited for The Maltese Falcon's novel being available, since I think that that one could actually be adapted into something pretty modern.Also, All Quiet on the Western Front is very arguably one of the very best movies ever made, and certainly one of the very best of the 30's if nothing else, so I am very much looking forward to fan restorations.
• neiman
  I recently made a radical proposal of public domain rules; It's inspired by GNU software licenses. It goes like this:1. Anyone can use anything that is in the public domain.2. Any creation that uses elements from the public domain is also, automatically, in the public domain.3. Activate retroactively: When the first book in a series (for example) gets into the public domain, then the whole series (and franchise) becomes public domain.(3) depends on what the initial rule is for something to get into the public domain.P.S: It's a thought experiment, not an actual "let's implement it now!" thing.
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  gxqoz
  I've always been curious about what it means for a movie to enter the public domain. A few years ago I sent a mail to Planet Money in what I thought would be an interesting hook but never got a response:"Hi Planet Money, today is public domain day. I see that Fritz Lang's classic Metropolis is now in the "public domain." I was curious what that meant at a practical level for a German language silent film.If Planet Money Movies wanted to release their own version of Metropolis, how would they do it? Can you just go to Amazon, buy the Blu Ray, and somehow release your own? What about the anti-piracy measures on the Blu Ray? What about the work that Transit Film did in restoring the film from the original negative? Does that count as some sort of newly original work? It's a silent film and a foreign film. How does the soundtrack and translation work?If you have to make a new copy from the original reels, what if someone is hoarding them? Does that mean you could buy all the copies and prevent someone from releasing a public domain version?"
• smallnix
  Interesting that EU is becoming stricter than US with growing life expectancy.Life + 70 can mean the work is protected 120 years (publish at 40, dies at 90)?
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  robin_reala
  Standard Ebooks added a bunch of newly-US-PD novels: https://standardebooks.org/blog/public-domain-day-2026(I’m happy to have contributed three to the launch this year, hope you enjoy them.)
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  marc_abonce
  How does copyright work with recorded music?The article mentions that Charlie (Bird) Parker's music is now public domain in most of the world (life + 70 years), but most of his records are collaborations with other artists like Dizzy Gillespie who died much later, less than 50 years ago. I also wonder if that even matters if the records are owned by corporations.In those cases, how would I know if a record is public domain or not?
• chr-s
  We're getting into the 1930s now - the sound era and the start of the Golden Age. Here's some recommendations.The Divorcee - Norma Shearer won best actress for this performance of a sophisticated woman. She evens the score after her husband has a brief affair, and as this is pre-Hays code, she isn't punished for it.Hell's Angels - produced by Howard Hughes, is worth watching for the dogfighting stunts alone. 4 people died filming them.Holiday - Inferior to the later Hepburn/Grant remake, but still a solid rendition of the play.L'age d'Or - Luis Buñuel's surrealist showcaseAnimal Crackers - the Marx brothers, it's still funny
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  nevster
  The Swallows and Amazons series is wonderful! Highly recommended.
• fromaj
  PG Wodehouse is public domain now!
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  shevy-java
  Everything should be in the public domain.I am aware that this is not realistic, for many reasons, but just like Richard Stallman, or the right to repair movement (e. g. Louis Rossmann) being vocal about it, or scientists who will prefer to publish with open access rather than be subject to the greedy Elsevier paywall, after the public already paid for the research - we need to strive for ideals here. So, all must be in the public domain. I actually think it should be without delay; seems usually the waiting time before it gets into the public domain is ... 75 years? Or any number where I am definitely no longer alive. So that is bad.Thus - public domain the everything. \o/
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  ChrisArchitect
  Related:What will enter the public domain in 2026?https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46117112
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  shmerl
  > Insatiability> The nation becomes enslaved to the Chinese leader Murti Bing. His emissaries give everyone a special pill called DAVAMESK B 2 which takes away their abilities to think and to mentally resist.Interesting. That's quite a bit before 1984 was written.
• echelon
  Perhaps most famously, "Betty Boop" is now public domain:https://reason.com/2026/01/01/betty-boop-enters-the-public-d...Just like with "Steamboat Willie" Mickey, it's only the very first iteration of the character.