Watching copyrights expire on art still feels like something new. After all, it was the public domain of the US frozen in time for 20 years, will not thaw until 2019. But this weekend’s Public Domain Day will bring our cultural commons some particularly noteworthy new works. As outlined by Duke Law School’s Center for the Study of the Public Domainmarks the beginning of 2023 the end of US copyrights on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s latest Sherlock Holmes stories – along with the groundbreaking sci-fi film MetropolisVirginia Woolfs To the lighthouseand the first full-length “talkie” movie The jazz singer.
In the public domain, anyone can republish, remix, or recreate works without permission from the rights holder – usually long after the original author has died. In previous years it has sparked explosions around new interpretations of works as The Great Gatsbywhich entered the public domain in 2021. More generally, you can say thank you for it Dracula daily, a newsletter creatively placed in a new context the classic vampire novel, or its spiritual successor Whale weekly as regards Moby Dick. And as the Duke abstract points out, the public domain gives archivists the freedom to preserve and redistribute works that would otherwise be lost, such as a treasure trove of silent films (including Metropolis) whose copyright will expire this year.
The Holmes news also specifically marks the end of a vexed legal debate over how copyright law should treat the character. Several of Doyle’s previous works were already in the public domain before 2019, but the author’s estate argued that this should not lose its hold. That led to several legal tangles about unauthorized new Sherlock Holmes stories, including a now-settled lawsuit against Netflix for its spin-off Enola Holmes. If you’re considering a new take on the world’s greatest detective, there’s never been a better time to do so. Think about Canada while you do it – thanks a law enacted earlier this yearit goes like this get started his own 20-year freeze. And get ready for one of the biggest copyright landmarks of the coming year: the public domain debut of Mickey Mouse.
