As 2025 rolls in, a whole host of new material and content has entered the public domain and can be now be remade or adapted by anyone without worrying about copyright infringement. Jeremy O'Hare, the British Library's Research and Business Development Manager, has put together this blog to explain how public domain works and which exciting new works are now available to use for free.

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The Great New Year Copyright Giveaway!

Every new year, on the stroke of midnight, hundreds of works of literature, art and recordings magically transform themselves into a gift for everyone to use. This gift is called ‘public domain’. 

It’s not widely known that copyright on every creative work will eventually expire. This means, in effect, that anybody can reprint, reproduce, adapt and recreate famous (and sometimes not so famous) works for their own use after a certain amount of time has passed. 

What is copyright and how does it expire? 

Copyright is a type of intellectual property. If you’re an author, musician, software creator, artist, photographer or illustrator, video/film maker or even podcaster, the content you create is automatically yours to own, use and commercialise. It is your copyright, on one condition -- that it is original work that you created. You should also be able to prove you created it when you did, so you can demonstrate that you created the work first (especially if someone were to copy or adapt it).  

The question is how long can someone claim ownership over their work? The answer (in UK copyright law) is the lifetime of the author or creator +70 years from the end of the calendar year of their death. Alternatively, if there is no designated creator and the work is produced by, say, a corporate entity, it is seventy years from the date of first release.  

Either way, potentially a long time and often long enough for a descendant or other owner/publisher to maintain control over the right of usage, even after the death of the original creator. 

As every new year rolls over, the +70 years copyright period will expire for more works. This can be a big moment for fans of famous works previously protected by copyright, as they can now be freely recreated or adapted into something new.  

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Some recent famous names 

For UK readers, did you know that the works of notable authors such as James Joyce, George Orwell and Virginia Woolf that were published during their lifetimes are now free to reuse and adapt? 

Works of art and illustration by artists such as Max Beckmann and the much-loved illustrator of the Wind in the Willows Arthur Rackham are also able to be used. 

Films in the public domain include some classic works in the history of film, such as Fritz Lang’s Metropolis or many of Charlie Chaplin’s earliest films. Other works that maybe of interest for reusing are old British Pathé News or Movietone reels, especially if you’re wishing to reuse original historical news and documentary archives.  

Likewise, early radio broadcasts from the 1930s and 1940s are also now public domain, as are broadcasts from the 1950s, 60s and early 70s. In fact, broadcasts have a much shorter copyright life of just 50 years. However, this does not apply to recorded music or other underlying copyrighted work, such as an original script for radio. 

Some creative reuses 

As new digital formats reach larger as well as niche audiences, there has never been a better time to reimagine an older work.  

What kinds of re-creations and adaptations are possible for public domain works? This is a potential boon for publishers who may want to republish new editions of older works, such as a new collected series of novels or stories. It’s also fantastic for consumers of e-books, as classic works can be reproduced in multiple formats which lowers the price for these works considerably and means some are now even available for free.  

TV, film or theatre producers can also freely use a literary work to remake or adapt it. This is nothing new when we think of the multiple film versions of titles like Dracula, Sherlock Holmes or the great TV adaptations of Jane Austen’s novels.  

These old stories can spin out new versions with different storylines using the famous characters. We only need to think of the many different versions and stories that Arthur Conan Doyle’s character Sherlock Holmes has inspired. 

Indeed, where would an entertainment company like Disney be today if it hadn’t adapted classic works, such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Pinocchio, or more recently Beauty and the Beast or the Little Mermaid?  

Public domain works are there for the taking, and Disney’s adaptations of these much older stories has led to huge commercial success. 

There are no limits to creative reimagining when it comes to public domain work! One of the more surprising adaptions is the reworking of George Orwell’s Animal Farm into a mobile phone game.  

Territorial rights 

One important aside before you dive into using your favourite public domain work - do be aware the length of copyright can vary between countries. Intellectual property rights are territorial by country so you will have some variances in length depending on the country’s own copyright laws. For example, some works may be out of copyright in the US but not yet in the UK. 

A summary of the various time spans by country can be found here. Don’t forget to watch out for format too. There may be differences in copyright length depending on whether the content is print, recorded sound, visual or music. 

What’s free for 2025 in the UK? 

Drum roll please. Here are my favourite copyright freebies for the UK this year… 

There are two major artists, one photographer, and one author.  

Up first is Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo. Her visually stunning and painfully personal works have gained a worldwide reputation in their own right. Therefore, it is indeed timely that a new generation are now able to reimagine, remake and even expand Kahlo’s vision into new creations. 

Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird (1940) - Frida Kahlo

Another famous name in early modern art is Henri Matisse, whose work is also copyright free for 2025. Matisse was a painter, printmaker and sculptor, and is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in modern art. His work is readily identifiable by its bold colours and expressive brushwork. I predict a Matisse revival this year as reprints and remakes of all kinds are made and sold. 

Image: Kevin Snow

Images from one of the most famous names in photojournalism, Robert Capa, are also now copyright free. Capa’s work captured some of the most significant conflicts of the twentieth century. His work documenting the Spanish Civil War, Second World War and his work for Magnum Photos will live on as iconic images of the 20th Century for centuries to come.  

Lastly, the work of British author J.B Priestley, who was a novelist, playwright and essayist, best known for his play An Inspector Calls, enters the public domain this year. His essays and novels may well become widely read again, and it won’t surprise me to see his plays back on stage, perhaps in new and different forms. 

Of course, these are just some of the most famous names. If you’re looking for new public domain material, have a look for anyone who died in 1954 who is still well-known today (or perhaps should be better known) and if they created anything of enduring interest. There’ll be a very good chance their work is copyright free to use in the UK.  

So for 2025, happy hunting for treasures, known and hidden, with this year’s great copyright giveaway! 

- Written by Jeremy O’Hare. 

Don't forget to sign up for our monthly introduction to copyright webinar. You can also find regular webinar introductions to Intellectual Property here.