I can't believe all these pop-culture icons come out of copyright in 2026

Yes, I know next year is still a fair way off. But I'm already obsessing over what enters the public domain in 2026. Because I truly think this is a big deal. Betty Boop. Nancy Drew. The Maltese Falcon. Pluto. The Three Stooges. Agatha Christie's first Miss Marple novel. These aren't forgotten relics. These are proper cultural icons.

On 1 January 2026, they're walking free from their current owners. And as someone who makes things for a living, I'm both thrilled and absolutely terrified.

Let's start with the good stuff. Want to write a Nancy Drew mystery set on Mars? Make a noir film using The Maltese Falcon? Create a series where Betty Boop teams up with the Three Stooges using Disney's principles of animation? Well, from next year on, nobody's stopping you. The creative possibilities are massive.

And we're not just talking obscure material here. We're talking about, for example, well-known novels such as All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying and Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own. Copyright even ends on some jazz classics, such as the 1925 recording of Bessie Smith's St. Louis Blues. These are heavyweight cultural properties with genuine audience recognition today.

From a practical standpoint, this is brilliant for creators on tight budgets. No licensing fees. No estate negotiations. No lawyers charging hundreds an hour. You just create. That's incredibly liberating when you're trying to make something without massive corporate backing behind you.

But here's the tricky bit: this isn't the creative free-for-all everyone thinks it is.

Legal pitfalls

Yes, the 1930 versions enter the public domain in the US. But only those specific 1930 versions. Later developments? Still protected.

Take Pluto. He first appeared in the 1930 cartoon The Chain Gang… but he looked quite different to how we know him today, and wasn't even called Pluto yet. The version we all recognise developed over years of subsequent cartoons that are absolutely still under copyright. So which Pluto can you legally use? The barely-recognisable proto-version? This is the sort of legal minefield that can destroy your project.

The same goes for Betty Boop. Her earliest 1930 appearance looks quite different from the iconic version everyone knows. Those refined character designs? They came later. Still protected.

Remember, too, that if you're in the UK like me, most of these works are still locked up. Here, copyright runs for 70 years after the creator's death, not from publication date. So whilst Americans will be freely adapting Nancy Drew, Brits will still be waiting. Use these properties on this side of the pond without permission, and you'll be hearing from some very expensive solicitors.

Worse still, even when something's public domain, trademarks still apply. This catches out loads of creators. So you can write a Nancy Drew novel, sure. But marketing it in a way that suggests official endorsement? That's trademark infringement. Putting her name on merchandise? Potential legal trouble. And please note that trademarks don't expire like copyrights; they can last forever if they're maintained.

Why I'm still optimistic

Despite all these warnings, I think this is all genuinely exciting. Many of these works have been locked away for decades; it's time they returned to the cultural commons where they can be reinterpreted and reimagined. Hopefully, we're going to see brilliant projects emerge.

But I beg of you: do your homework first. Understand which specific versions you can use. Check the laws in your actual jurisdiction. Consider trademark implications. If your project has commercial potential, talk to an IP solicitor.

In other words, the public domain is a gift... just read the instruction manual before unwrapping it.

For more on legal matters, see our guide to font licensing.