With 2025 officially starting, a handful of iconic characters and works have entered the U.S. public domain. With the copyrights for these books expiring, the public can now use and adapt these works without worry. Popeye and Tintin are just two on the list.
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1. Popeye
Popeye is arguably one of the most iconic fictional cartoon characters in media. He was created by Elzie Crisler Segar and first appeared in 1929 on a comic strip called Thimble Theatre. The strip was later renamed Popeye, and after Segar’s death, various writers and artists continued to work on it.
2. Tintin
Tintin is the second iconic character to enter the public domain in 2025. He was made by Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi. The Adventures of Tintin series has become one of the most popular European comics. While Tintin will enter the U.S. public domain in 2025, he will remain copyrighted in the EU until 2054. This is because EU copyright lasts 70 years after the creators’ deaths, and since Belgian cartoonist Hergé died in 1983, the public can only use Tintin in 2054.
3. A Room of One’s Own
The next one on the list is Virginia Woolf’s book A Room of One’s Own. This work is actually an essay based on two lectures Woolf delivered at Newnham and Girton College. It explores social injustices and discusses women’s lack of free expression in that era.
4. The Karnival Kid
Besides the Steamboat Willie, which entered the public domain in 2024, a dozen more Mickey animations will also enter the public domain in 2025. Among them is The Karnival Kid, which is the first animation in which you can hear Mickey Mouse speak. In the animation, this iconic mouse is trying to sell some hot dogs, and he actually shouts, “Hot dogs! Hot dogs!”
5. Blackmail
Blackmail is a 1929 film directed by the famous English film director Alfred Hitchcock. The movie is based on the 1928 play of the same name, which was made by Charles Bennett. Its story is about a woman who is being blackmailed after she killed a man who attempted to rape her. The movie is often called the first British sound feature film.
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6. A Farewell to Arms
The next work that enters the public domain is A Farewell to Arms, which was written by the famous American writer Ernest Hemingway. It’s set during World War I with a soldier named Frederic Henry as its protagonist. He’s serving as a lieutenant in the ambulance corps of the Italian Army. The plot focuses on the romance of Henry and an English nurse named Catherine Barkley.
7. All Quiet on the Western Front
All Quiet on the Western Front is a semi-autobiographical novel by a German veteran who fought in WWI named Erich Maria Remarque. The book explores his experience during the war, especially the extreme physical and mental trauma he suffered. The work also describes the feeling of detachment that many soldiers feel when they return from war.
8. The Seven Dials Mystery
Another iconic work that has entered the public domain is a detective fiction titled The Seven Dials Mystery, written by Agatha Christie. It was first published in the UK in 1929 but soon entered the U.S. in the same year. The novel features various characters from the author’s previous work, The Secret of Chimneys. The plot focuses on a murder that occurs during a party at the stately home Chimneys.
9. Singin’ in the Rain
Singin’ in the Rain is a song released in 1929. The lyrics were written by Arthur Freed, and the music was by Nacio Herb Brown. This song is often associated with the history of cinema since it became popular when silent films transitioned to sound films.
10. Happy Days Are Here Again
Happy Days Are Here Again is another iconic song that entered the public domain in 2025. The lyrics were written by Jack Yellen and the music was performed by Milton Ager. This song showed up in the 1930 film Chasing Rainbows and even became Franklin D. Roosevelt’s campaign song in 1932.
And those are all of the iconic works that will enter the public domain in 2025.
Published: Jan 3, 2025 07:43 am