In many countries, copyright law states that a creative work is under the control of the creator or copyright holder until 70 years after the creator's death. After that time, the creative work enters the public domain, where they are no longer under copyright and can be reused, adapted, shared, and explored in new ways.
However, from 1999 to 2018 in the United States, old works did not enter the public domain in this way. This was due to the 1999 Copyright Term Extension Act, sometimes referred to as the "Mickey Mouse Protection Act."
The Extension Act expired in 2019, and since then, works that were previously due to enter the public domain have begun marching forward. In 2019, works published in 1924 could finally enter the public domain and this year works from 1925 have entered the public domain as well! To celebrate, this guide will review some of the best, most popular, or most obscure resources that can now be shared and reused in interesting and innovative ways.
"1925 in the Public Domain" mashup image by Abbey Elder is licensed CC 0.
