Every January, the Library of Congress releases U.S. copyrighted works into the public domain. For these works, the copyright may have expired; been waived, or forfeited.
January 1 of each year is often referred to as Public Domain Day and is when wonderful works are made copyright-free and release into public domain. For those not familiar, public domain refers to works that are not protected by any copyright or any intellectual property license. Public domain includes artworks, film, music, historical documents, literary works and visual arts.
The Library of Congress publishes an article on its blog every January informing of the works that are released. For instance, musical works by African American singer Bessie Smith. According to Duke University’s Center for Public Domain, all sound recordings from 2023 have been released! Also, released is the literary work Dark Princess, written by W.E.B. DuBois’, who co-founded the NAACP in 1909.
See a list of the last 5 years of Public Domain Day in the resources below.
RESOURCES
Public Domain Day 2024
Hall, Alison (January 8, 2022). The Lifecycle of Copyright: 1928 Works In the Public Domain. Library of Congress blog. https://blogs.loc.gov/copyright/2024/01/lifecycle-of-copyright-1928-works-in-the-public-domain/
Public Domain Day 2023
Lamberson, Nicole (May 31, 2023). The Lifecycle of Copyright: 1927 Works In the Public Domain. Library of Congress blog. https://blogs.loc.gov/copyright/2023/05/1927-works-in-the-public-domain/
Public Domain Day 2022
Scheland, Nora (January 11, 2022). The Lifecycle of Copyright: 1926 Works Enter the Public Domain. Library of Congress blog. https://blogs.loc.gov/copyright/2022/01/the-lifecycle-of-copyright-1926-works-enter-the-public-domain/
Public Domain Day 2021
Mazumdar, Anandashankar (January 29, 2021). The Lifecycle of Copyright: 1925 Works Enter the Public Domain. Library of Congress Blog. https://blogs.loc.gov/copyright/2021/01/the-lifecycle-of-copyright-1925-works-enter-the-public-domain/
Public Domain Day 2020
Lamberson, Nicole (February 20, 2020). The Lifecycle of Copyright: 1924 Works Enter the Public Domain. Library of Congress blog. https://blogs.loc.gov/copyright/2020/02/the-lifecycle-of-copyright-1924-works-enter-the-public-domain/
Public Domain Day 2019
Mazumdar, Anandashankar (January 4, 2019). Published Works Enter the Public Domain in the United States for First Time in Twenty Years. Library of Congress Blog, https://blogs.loc.gov/copyright/2019/01/publicdomain/
Wikipedia. Public Domain in the United States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain_in_the_United_States
HEATH Information 