| 1 | %% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1506735049092683800 |
| 2 | %% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread. |
| 3 | %% |
| 4 | [[quoteright:349:[[{{Dracula}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dracula_public_domain_character_9.png]]]] |
| 5 | [[caption-width-right:349:The Count has had many faces, some friendlier than others.[[note]]Clockwise from top left: ''Film/HorrorOfDracula'', ''ComicBook/TheTombOfDracula'', ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', and ''WesternAnimation/HotelTransylvania''.[[/note]]]] |
| 6 | %% |
| 7 | %% Caption selected per IP thread above. Please do not remove or replace without discussion here: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1404492079030138900 |
| 8 | %% |
| 9 | |
| 10 | ->''"God bless the public domain."'' |
| 11 | -->-- ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'', on introducing '''Dracula''' |
| 12 | |
| 13 | %%One quote is sufficient. Please place additional entries on the quotes tab. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | A character that nobody owns anymore, or was never owned in the first place, that everybody wants to take a shot at writing. |
| 16 | |
| 17 | Under U.S. law, works first published before 1929 are no longer subject to copyright. Before the 1970s, copyright was not automatic in the United States and most other countries, and it was possible for a copyright to lapse if not registered or renewed in a timely manner, so certain later works are public domain as well. In Europe, the rule is that the author has to have been dead for 70 years[[note]]with the exception of Spain, which has a copyright term of life plus 80 years for creators that died before 1987[[/note]]. The longest copyright term in the world is that of Mexico, in which since 2003, works do not enter the public domain until the author has been dead for ''100 years''[[note]]which is not retroactive; any author who died before 1952 is already in the public domain[[/note]]. France also has 6 to 8-year copyright extensions for musical works published before 1920 and/or 1947, and a 30-year copyright extension for authors who died while serving during World Wars I and II, such as Creator/AntoineDeSaintExupery. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | Many countries also follow the "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_the_shorter_term rule of the shorter term]]", where if a work is in the public domain in its country of origin, it is also public domain in the other country. |
| 20 | |
| 21 | Additionally, the copyright holder may choose to release a work prematurely into the PublicDomain. |
| 22 | |
| 23 | Most notably, the authors only have to be dead for 50 years for their works to enter the public domain in New Zealand--meaning that those of Creator/CSLewis and Creator/IanFleming (died in 1963 and 1964) are no longer under copyright in that country. Canada is a party to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States–Mexico–Canada_Agreement a 2018 trade agreement]] that uses a minimum life-plus-70 term, and accordingly changed its law to that effect in 2022. However, this change was not made retroactive, meaning that the works of any author who died before 1972 (including Lewis and Fleming) are PD in Canada. Mexico is also a party to that agreement, in which its "life plus 100" term is preserved. In Australia, the work of any author who died before 1955 is public domain; the country changed from a "life plus 50" term to "life plus 70" in 2004, but also did not make the change retroactive. Similarly, in Japan, which changed from "life plus 50" to "life plus 70" in 2018 and didn't make this change retroactive, the work of any author who died before 1968 is public domain. |
| 24 | |
| 25 | Compare HistoricalDomainCharacter, which are people from RealLife; and LiteraryMashUps, in which entire public domain works are... erm, "improved". Also be wary of examples in general found in the wild as, despite all pretenses, many people don't know much about copyright law in general, and those that do, certainly don't know its many intricacies and legal interpretations. Further, copyright holders often give the impression that they have more extensive rights than they really do (for example, implying that an entire series is copyrighted when some of it might be public domain). And indeed, in certain instances, people don't often realize the history of certain characters, resulting in RealityIsUnrealistic. See SantaClaus. |
| 26 | |
| 27 | Keep in mind that producers may arrange for a license to use the name or likeness of a character even if it's likely to be in the public domain, or even if the use would not normally be considered infringement if it were not. An example regarding trademarks is the agreement between Conan O'Brien's producers and the owner of the Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian literary estate allowing Conan to use his first name as the title of his talk show. TBS apparently thought it prudent to get the agreement even though it's unlikely the literary estate would be so foolhardy as to sue; the defense of even a frivolous lawsuit would run to many times the cost of such an agreement. |
| 28 | |
| 29 | See also PublicDomainArtifact for when this trope is focused on different artifacts and objects also under Public Domain, LandmarkOfLore for locations used in a similar way, and PublicDomainCanonWelding when this is done with entire settings. |
| 30 | ---- |
| 31 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 32 | |
| 33 | !!List of common public domain characters |
| 34 | [[index]] |
| 35 | |
| 36 | [[folder:Folklore and Mythology]] |
| 37 | [[AC:[[Literature/TheBible Abrahamic Mythology]]]] |
| 38 | * TheAntichrist |
| 39 | * [[CelestialParagonsAndArchangels The Archangels]] |
| 40 | ** [[ArchangelAzrael Azrael]] |
| 41 | ** [[ArchangelGabriel Gabriel]] |
| 42 | ** [[ArchangelMichael Michael]] |
| 43 | ** [[ArchangelRaphael Raphael]] |
| 44 | ** [[ArchangelUriel Uriel]] |
| 45 | * CainAndAbel |
| 46 | ** {{Cain}} |
| 47 | * {{God}} |
| 48 | * HorsemenOfTheApocalypse |
| 49 | * JacobAndEsau |
| 50 | * {{UsefulNotes/Jesus}} |
| 51 | * {{Myth/Lilith}} |
| 52 | * {{Metatron}} |
| 53 | * UsefulNotes/PatronSaints |
| 54 | ** Myth/SaintGeorge |
| 55 | * Literature/SamsonAndDelilah |
| 56 | * {{Satan}} |
| 57 | ** {{Asmodeus}} |
| 58 | ** {{Baphomet}} |
| 59 | ** {{Beelzebub}} |
| 60 | ** {{Mammon}} |
| 61 | * TheThreeWiseMen |
| 62 | \ |
| 63 | [[AC:Myth/ArthurianLegend]] |
| 64 | * Myth/KingArthur |
| 65 | * {{Myth/Merlin}} |
| 66 | * [[Myth/TheLadyOfTheLake Nimue/Vivienne (the Lady of the Lake)]] |
| 67 | \ |
| 68 | [[AC:[[ChristmasTropes Christmas Folklore]]]] |
| 69 | * JackFrost |
| 70 | * TheKrampus |
| 71 | * MrsClaus |
| 72 | * SantaClaus |
| 73 | * {{UsefulNotes/Sinterklaas}} |
| 74 | \ |
| 75 | [[AC:[[Myth/ClassicalMythology Greco-Roman Mythology]]]] |
| 76 | * {{Theatre/Agamemnon}} |
| 77 | * {{Theatre/Ajax}} |
| 78 | * {{Theatre/Alcestis}} |
| 79 | * {{Theatre/Antigone}} |
| 80 | * {{Theatre/Electra}} |
| 81 | * {{Hercules}} %%(please don't change this link)%% |
| 82 | * {{Theatre/Hippolytus}} |
| 83 | * {{Theatre/Medea}} |
| 84 | * {{Medusa}} |
| 85 | * {{Theatre/Oedipus|TheKing}} |
| 86 | * {{Theatre/Philoctetes}} |
| 87 | \ |
| 88 | [[AC:Other Folktales and {{Legend}}s]] |
| 89 | * [[Myth/TheWhiteWitchOfRoseHall Annie Palmer, the White Witch of Rose Hall]] |
| 90 | * {{Cernunnos}} |
| 91 | * DavyJones |
| 92 | * EasterBunny |
| 93 | * FatherTime |
| 94 | * Myth/{{Faust}} |
| 95 | * TheFlatwoodsMonster |
| 96 | * The Captain and crew of the FlyingDutchman, including [[Theatre/TheFlyingDutchman the versions in Wagner’s opera.]] (Much of the lore used in the ''[[Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Pirates of the Caribbean]]'' films, however, is original to that franchise and thus will remain in copyright for decades.) |
| 97 | * TheGrimReaper |
| 98 | * HeadlessHorseman |
| 99 | * Myth/LaLlorona |
| 100 | * {{Mephistopheles}} |
| 101 | * MotherNature |
| 102 | * TheMothman |
| 103 | * DerivativeWorks/{{Mulan}} |
| 104 | * Myth/NoraOfKelmendi |
| 105 | * Myth/PaulBunyan |
| 106 | * Myth/RobinHood |
| 107 | * TheSandman |
| 108 | * UsefulNotes/SarutobiSasuke |
| 109 | * SpringHeeledJack |
| 110 | * StingyJack |
| 111 | * ToothFairy |
| 112 | * Myth/WaylandTheSmith |
| 113 | * Myth/WilliamTell |
| 114 | [[/folder]] |
| 115 | |
| 116 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 117 | [[AC:Literature/ArabianNights]] |
| 118 | * {{Literature/Aladdin}} |
| 119 | * {{Literature/Ali Baba|AndTheFortyThieves}} |
| 120 | * Literature/SinbadTheSailor |
| 121 | \ |
| 122 | [[AC:Creator/TheBrothersGrimm]] |
| 123 | * Literature/HanselAndGretel |
| 124 | * Literature/ThePiedPiperOfHamelin |
| 125 | * {{Literature/Rapunzel}} |
| 126 | * {{Literature/Rumpelstiltskin}} |
| 127 | * Literature/SnowWhite |
| 128 | \ |
| 129 | [[AC:Creator/CharlesPerrault]] |
| 130 | * {{Literature/Cinderella}} |
| 131 | * Literature/LittleRedRidingHood |
| 132 | * Literature/PussInBoots |
| 133 | * Literature/SleepingBeauty |
| 134 | \ |
| 135 | [[AC:Other {{Fairy Tale}}s]] |
| 136 | * Literature/BabaYaga |
| 137 | * TheBigBadWolf |
| 138 | * {{Literature/Goldilocks}} |
| 139 | * Literature/TheLittleMermaid |
| 140 | * {{Literature/Momotaro}} |
| 141 | * {{Literature/Pinocchio}} |
| 142 | * Literature/TheThreeLittlePigs |
| 143 | \ |
| 144 | [[AC:Other Literature]] |
| 145 | * [[Literature/RimeOfTheAncientMariner The Ancient Mariner]] |
| 146 | * Literature/ArseneLupin in all countries outside the US, as author Maurice Leblanc died in 1941.[[note]]The last countries in which Lupin entered the PD were Colombia, Equatorial Guinea, and Spain; the first two use "life plus 80", and Spain did until it went to "life plus 70" in 1987. Jamaica adopted "life plus 95" in 2015, making that law retroactive to January 1962 (its year of independence). However, because the previous term was "life plus 50", any author who died before 1962 is PD there. As noted earlier, Mexico did not make its sequential extensions of copyright retroactive.[[/note]] In the US, any element of the series introduced before 1929. |
| 147 | * {{Literature/Beowulf}} |
| 148 | * {{Literature/Carmilla}} |
| 149 | * {{Franchise/Cthulhu|Mythos}}, {{Literature/Herbert West|Reanimator}}, and many other characters of [[Creator/HPLovecraft H.P. Lovecraft]]. Outside of the United States all his works are public domain, but his later works (after 1929) are in a grey area in the United States, where it's not known for sure if his stories were published with copywrite notice, and if they were whether they were renewed or not.[[note]]Lovecraft biographer S. T. Joshi believes that the copyright passed to his aunt upon death, and then to her grandchildren, who did not renew it. For what it's worth, Lovecraft himself was of the mind that anybody who wished to add to his mythos was encouraged to do so, which in part is how his work became so widely known in the first place[[/note]] |
| 150 | * Literature/DonQuixote |
| 151 | * {{Dracula}} |
| 152 | * FrankensteinsMonster |
| 153 | ** [[DrFrankenstein Dr. Victor Frankenstein]] |
| 154 | * Literature/FuManchu, in countries where the copyright term is "Life plus 60" or lower, plus any countries where the work of creators who died before 1960 is PD.[[note]]These two sets don't completely overlap. For example, while the current term in Canada and Japan is life plus 70, it had been life plus 50 before 2018 in Japan and 2022 in Canada. Since the series author Sax Rohmer died in 1959, his works entered the Canadian and Japanese PD in 2010.[[/note]] In the US, any element of the series introduced before 1929. See the "Other public domain characters: Literature" folder for more details. |
| 155 | * Literature/TheInvisibleMan |
| 156 | * Literature/{{Heidi}} |
| 157 | * JekyllAndHyde |
| 158 | * {{Literature/John Carter|OfMars}} in countries with life plus 70 or lower, plus any countries where the work of creators who died before 1951 is PD.[[note]]Most notably Mexico; while it now has life plus 100, it used life plus 30 before 1982 and didn't make any of its later term extensions retroactive.[[/note]] In the US, any element of the series introduced before 1929. However, not PD yet in Spain, which was "life plus 80" until 1987; since Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs died in 1950, his works won't be PD there until 2031. |
| 159 | * {{Literature/Kalevipoeg}} |
| 160 | * Literature/PeterPan, but only outside of the United Kingdom. See the "Other public domain characters: Literature" folder for more details. |
| 161 | * Literature/ReynardTheFox |
| 162 | * Literature/RipVanWinkle |
| 163 | * Literature/RobinsonCrusoe |
| 164 | * {{Literature/Sennentuntschi}} |
| 165 | * Literature/SherlockHolmes |
| 166 | * DerivativeWorks/SweeneyTodd |
| 167 | * {{Literature/Tarzan}} -- since Tarzan, like John Carter, was created by Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs, his copyright status is the same as that of John Carter. However, the ''trademark'' is another story. See "Other public domain characters: Literature". |
| 168 | * Literature/SitioDoPicapauAmarelo, in countries with life plus 70 or lower, as the author died in 1948. Also PD in countries where the work of authors who died before 1949 is PD.[[note]]Most notably Mexico, whose sequential extensions of copyright from life plus 30 to life plus 100 were not made retroactive.[[/note]] In the US, any element of the series introduced before 1929. |
| 169 | * DerivativeWorks/{{Zorro}}, in countries with life plus 60 or lower, plus any countries where the work of creators who died before 1959 is PD. (Among these: Canada, Japan, and NZ.) In the US, any element of the series introduced before 1929. See "Other public domain characters: Literature". |
| 170 | * [[{{Literature/WinnieThePooh}} Winnie-The-Pooh and Friends]], except for the one's made by Disney. |
| 171 | [[/folder]] |
| 172 | |
| 173 | [[folder:Other]] |
| 174 | [[AC:Film]] |
| 175 | * Film/CharlieChan |
| 176 | * [[{{Film/Nosferatu}} Count Orlok]] |
| 177 | * [[TheIgor Igor]][[note]]who's actually a composite character of Fritz and Ygor from the ''[[Film/Frankenstein1931 Frankenstein]]'' film series by Universal Studios[[/note]] |
| 178 | * [[{{Film/Metropolis}} Freder, Maria, Hel/False Maria.]] |
| 179 | \ |
| 180 | [[AC:Internet]] |
| 181 | * Franchise/TheFearMythos (including Literature/TheRake, but excluding [[Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos the Slender Man]]) |
| 182 | * MediaNotes/JennyEverywhere |
| 183 | \ |
| 184 | [[AC:Theatre]] |
| 185 | * {{Theatre/Hamlet}} |
| 186 | * {{Theatre/Othello}} |
| 187 | * Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet |
| 188 | |
| 189 | [[AC:Western Animation]] |
| 190 | * WesternAnimation/FelixTheCat |
| 191 | * [[{{WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse}} Mickey Mouse]], [[{{WesternAnimation/MinnieMouse}} Minnie Mouse]], [[{{WesternAnimation/Pete}} Pete]] |
| 192 | ** [[{{WesternAnimation/TheMadDoctor}} The Mad Doctor/Dr. XXX]] |
| 193 | * WesternAnimation/OswaldTheLuckyRabbit |
| 194 | [[/folder]] |
| 195 | |
| 196 | [[/index]] |
| 197 | ---- |
| 198 | !!Other public domain characters in media |
| 199 | |
| 200 | [[folder:Advertising]] |
| 201 | '''Please note:''' A character may be in the public domain, but still trademarked, especially if it's an advertising mascot. |
| 202 | ---- |
| 203 | * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Peanut Mr. Peanut]] first appeared in 1916. |
| 204 | * [[https://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Bobby_Shelby Bobby Shelby]] started out in instructional comic strips put out by the Shelby Cycle Company before getting his own comic series. |
| 205 | * [[https://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Bubbles_and_Yanks Bubbles and Yanks]] used Super Duper Yanks Bubble Gum to save America's atomic secrets. |
| 206 | * [[https://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Captain_Tootsie Captain Tootsie]] for Tootsie Rolls. |
| 207 | * Sinclair Oil's [[https://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Miracle_Man_(Sinclair_Oil) Miracle Man]]. |
| 208 | * Surprisingly enough, ''[[UsefulNotes/McDonalds Ronald McDonald]]'', out of all characters, but only his appearance in the 1963's commercial "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPNKsgwj8aQ Ronald McDonald, the Hamburger-Happy Clown]]", which differs from the mainstream version, which is still copyrighted. His name, of course, is also trademarked, [[WritingAroundTrademarks so you'll probably have to use "Ronald" and "McDonald" (or maybe even "MacDonald", if you want to be even safer) separately.]] |
| 209 | * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Sam Uncle Sam]] and the woman in the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Can_Do_It! "We Can Do It!"]] poster, often incorrectly conflated with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosie_the_Riveter Rosie the Riveter]].[[note]]The "We Can Do It!" poster was made for the American industrial effort in WWII, but not by the government. It was created by Westinghouse Electric, a major defense contractor. The poster is PD because it lacks a copyright notice, which was required at the time to secure copyright.[[/note]] |
| 210 | * [[https://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Pepsi_the_Pepsi-Cola_Cop# Pepsi and Pete the Pepsi-Cola Cops]] |
| 211 | [[/folder]] |
| 212 | |
| 213 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 214 | * Many [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] comic book characters wound up falling into public domain because their original publishers either went out of business or failed to renew the copyrights. Most Creator/FawcettComics and Creator/QualityComics characters fall into the latter category. With Quality Comics, Creator/DCComics acquired the characters while they were still under copyright, but they allowed the characters that they weren't using to enter the public domain. Fawcett Comics licensed its characters to DC until it went out of business in 1980s and DC bought them outright, but, once again, it didn't renew copyrights for anyone but [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] and his supporting cast. |
| 215 | * The comic-book superheroine Octobriana may or may not have been created for anti-Soviet underground comics anonymously circulated in the USSR during the Cold War. Regardless of the truth of her origins, however, she is still in the public domain. |
| 216 | * Dave Sim has stated that upon his death, his GraphicNovel ''ComicBook/CerebusTheAardvark'' will enter the public domain. |
| 217 | * The site [[http://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Public_Domain_Super_Heroes Public Domain Super Heroes]] is a wiki all about public domain superhero characters. There are a few open source characters, à la Jenny Everywhere, as well. The rest are all Golden Age heroes or Silver Age characters that had their publishers ''badly'' screw up the copyright registration. |
| 218 | * ComicBook/AceMcCoy |
| 219 | * ComicBook/AceOfSpace |
| 220 | * ComicBook/AcePowers |
| 221 | * ComicBook/{{Airboy}} |
| 222 | * ComicBook/TheAtomicThunderbolt |
| 223 | * ComicBook/TheBanshee |
| 224 | * ComicBook/BlackCatHarveyComics |
| 225 | * ComicBook/TheBlackSpider |
| 226 | * ComicBook/TheBlueStreak |
| 227 | * ComicBook/{{Buckskin|AmericasDefenderOfLiberty}} |
| 228 | * ComicBook/CaptainFlash |
| 229 | * ComicBook/TheCrusader |
| 230 | * ComicBook/ElKuraan |
| 231 | * ComicBook/{{The Eye|Sees}} |
| 232 | * ComicBook/Funnyman1948 |
| 233 | * ComicBook/GhostNedorComics |
| 234 | * ComicBook/GoldenLad |
| 235 | * ComicBook/TheGreenGiant |
| 236 | * ComicBook/TheGreenKnight |
| 237 | * ComicBook/{{Gunsmoke}} |
| 238 | * ComicBook/HyperThePhenomenal |
| 239 | * ComicBook/TheInvisibleTerror |
| 240 | * ComicBook/KBarKate |
| 241 | * ComicBook/{{Kismet|ManOfFate}} |
| 242 | * ComicBook/TheLoneWarrior |
| 243 | * ComicBook/TheMadHatter |
| 244 | * ComicBook/TheMarksman |
| 245 | * ComicBook/TheMaskedMarvel |
| 246 | * ComicBook/MasterMystic |
| 247 | * ComicBook/MotherHubbard |
| 248 | * ComicBook/{{Nelvana|OfTheNorthernLights}} |
| 249 | * ComicBook/{{Pat Patriot|AmericasJoanOfArc}} |
| 250 | * ComicBook/PhantomFlyer |
| 251 | * ComicBook/StardustTheSuperWizard |
| 252 | * ComicBook/TheSteelFist |
| 253 | * ComicBook/SuperAmerican |
| 254 | * ComicBook/TomboySterling |
| 255 | * ComicBook/{{Typhon}} |
| 256 | * ComicBook/TheWaspLevGleason |
| 257 | * ComicBook/WonderManFox |
| 258 | * ComicBook/TheWraith |
| 259 | * ComicBook/{{Yellowjacket}} |
| 260 | * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazing-Man_(Centaur_Publications) Amazing Man]] (not to be confused with the DC character of the same name). |
| 261 | * [[https://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Miss_Fury Miss Fury]], the first female superhero whose comic was to be written and drawn by a woman. |
| 262 | * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Terror The Black Terror]]. |
| 263 | * For more information, see PublicDomainComicBooks. |
| 264 | [[/folder]] |
| 265 | |
| 266 | [[folder:Comic Strips]] |
| 267 | * ''ComicStrip/KrazyKat'' (as well as all original strips) became public domain in most countries (especially Europe, apart from Spain) in 2015, as the strip's author George Herriman died in 1944. |
| 268 | * ComicStrip/LittleNemo -- at least the character itself and the comic, not the movie. |
| 269 | * ''ComicStrip/{{Popeye}}'': |
| 270 | ** The character of Popeye (though not the films, TV shows, and other media based on him) became public domain in most countries, including almost all of the EU, in 2009, since the original creator, Elzie Segar, died in 1938. Spain had to wait until 2019. Popeye became PD even earlier in Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, and NZ, all of which used "life plus 50" (or, in the case of Mexico, life plus ''30''). While Australia, Japan, and Mexico later extended their terms, those changes weren't made retroactive; Canada's change to "life plus 70" didn't occur until more than 80 years after Segar's death. However, Popeye remains under copyright in the US. When Popeye first appeared in the ''Thimble Theatre'' comic strip (later renamed for Popeye) in January 1929, Segar was employed by the strip's owner, Creator/KingFeaturesSyndicate. As a result, Popeye is treated as a "work for hire" under US copyright law, and is protected for 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter. In turn, this means that the character will not pass into the public domain in the US until (at least) 2025. In addition, Popeye is often the source of LawyerFriendlyCameo appearances -- thinly-veiled muscular sailors have appeared [[http://crossover.bureau42.com/zpopeye.html in both DC and Marvel comics]]. Ironically, Disney could not clear the rights in time to have Popeye appear in ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit''. This, after they co-produced TheMovie of ''Film/{{Popeye}}'' with Paramount. |
| 271 | ** And while we'll have to wait until next year in 2025 before Popeye goes public domain in the US, all of the original Fleischer cartoon serials have entered the public domain, as well as some of the later Famous Studios shorts. |
| 272 | ** On the other hand, Popeye's love interest Olive Oyl, also created by Segar for ''Thimble Theatre'', entered the public domain in the US in 1995 -- 14 years (24 in Spain) before she entered the public domain in Europe. She debuted with the comic strip in December 1919, a little more than 9 years before the Popeye character. Under US copyright law at that time, copyrights lasted a maximum of 75 years, whether or not they were works for hire. Although the US later passed a copyright term extension, it specifically refused to restore copyright for works whose terms had ended. That being said, however, only pre-1929 elements of Olive Oyl are public domain in the US. |
| 273 | * ComicStrip/TheYellowKid first appeared in 1895. |
| 274 | * ''ComicStrip/GnormGnat'' and most of the ''ComicStrip/{{Jon}}'' comic strips made by Creator/JimDavis, since they were released without a copyright notice, as copyrights were required to be written down on a work prior to 1977. The ''Jon'' comics, of course, also include the oldest version of Franchise/{{Garfield}}.[[note]]Keep in mind, though, that "Garfield" is trademarked under the use of Paws, Inc. and Paramount Global/Nickelodeon Group. This means that although this Garfield can legally be used within a work of fiction, it cannot be advertised with his name.[[/note]] |
| 275 | * [[https://web.archive.org/web/20170713220029/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ally_Sloper Ally Sloper]] |
| 276 | * [[https://web.archive.org/web/20190619033150/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Bounce Billy Bounce]] |
| 277 | * ComicStrip/BusterBrown |
| 278 | * [[https://web.archive.org/web/20190724205700/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ella_Cinders Ella Cinders]] |
| 279 | * [[https://web.archive.org/web/20190620191011/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Hooligan Happy Hooligan]] |
| 280 | * [[https://web.archive.org/web/20190823084202/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harold_Teen Harold Teen]] |
| 281 | * ComicStrip/TheKatzenjammerKids |
| 282 | * [[https://web.archive.org/web/20170101233143/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Jack Mr. Jack]] and his supporting cast. |
| 283 | * ComicStrip/MuttAndJeff |
| 284 | * [[https://web.archive.org/web/20170714132930/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnie_Winkle Winnie Winkle]]. |
| 285 | [[/folder]] |
| 286 | |
| 287 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 288 | * See PublicDomainFeatureFilms for more. |
| 289 | * Film/KingKong, sort of. But ItsALongStory. Read [[Website/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki's]] take on it [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Kong#Ownership_rights here]]. |
| 290 | * Most of Creator/CharlieChaplin's films are public domain, as is his Tramp character. |
| 291 | * Creator/LaurelAndHardy. |
| 292 | * Most of Creator/BusterKeaton’s films have entered the public domain including Film/TheGeneral. |
| 293 | * Most of Creator/HaroldLloyd’s films have entered the public domain including his popular character The Kid/Harold featured in films such as The Freshman and Film/TheKidBrother. |
| 294 | * Film/CharlieChan. |
| 295 | * ''Film/ItsAWonderfulLife'' was VindicatedByCable as a result of falling into public domain. |
| 296 | ** ''It's a Wonderful Life'' may technically be in the public domain — but you won't find it on any network other than NBC (or its co-owned cable channels) in the holiday season thanks to the twists in copyright law discovered by Republic Pictures. They currently own copyrights to the score of the movie and have secured the exclusive film rights to its literary basis, "The Greatest Gift" (which has not fallen into the public domain). As a result, Creator/{{Paramount}}, its successor company, is permitted to control the film as though it was the copyright holder. The only elements of the film that are arguably PD today are the visual images. |
| 297 | * Visit any UsefulNotes/{{Walmart}} in the US or Canada and you'll find many [=DVDs=] on budget labels featuring famous movies and movie stars. This is due to a huge number of films falling out of copyright and going into public domain, either due to failure by the studio to put a copyright notice on the film in the first place, or a studio or other entity failing to renew copyright. Among the literally hundreds of examples of films that are public domain and thus fair game for anyone to release on home video are the classic MGM musicals ''Royal Wedding'' and ''Till the Clouds Roll By'', the Cary Grant/Audrey Hepburn film ''Charade'', the Jayne Mansfield film ''The Fat Spy'', Jane Russell's ''The Outlaw'', the [[WesternAnimation/SupermanTheatricalCartoons Fleischer Superman cartoon shorts]] of the 1930s, and several Tarzan films. To name, literally, only a very few. Simply put, if you see the same film released by a half dozen different companies on Amazon or in a store, and it's not an "imported" bootleg, then odds are it's fallen into public domain. |
| 298 | * Most of the old movies featured on ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' are in public domain, which is how they were easily used on the show. |
| 299 | * There was a book published in the 1970s called "50,000 motion pictures in the public domain" which took all of the copyright registrations for films starting around 1912 up through about 1975 or so, and dropped the ones for which copyright renewals were made. While a lot of these films either no longer exist--Irving Thalberg, as head of MGM, had a lot of films rendered (melted down) to recover their silver content--or have been lost, and some may be based on scripts or books that are still copyrighted, there are still a lot of films that are out of copyright because of failure to renew back when renewals were mandatory. |
| 300 | * ''Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968'' technically never ''was'' properly under U.S. copyright, due to an editing-room flub that removed the film's copyright label along with its original ''Night of the Flesh-Eaters'' title. This opened the door for Romero-style zombies to become as much of a stock horror monster as vampires or werewolves. |
| 301 | * Seymour, Audrey II, and the others from ''Film/TheLittleShopOfHorrors''. But only the versions of them from the 1960 film, and not the [[Theatre/LittleShopOfHorrors musical based off of it]] or [[Film/LittleShopOfHorrors the second movie based off the musical]]. |
| 302 | * The zombie-using aliens and others from ''Film/Plan9FromOuterSpace''. |
| 303 | * Pitch the demon, Lupita, Santa's helpers, and the depictions of [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext Merlin]] and Santa himself from ''Film/SantaClaus1959''. |
| 304 | * ''Film/SantaClausConquersTheMartians'': The emotionally-stunted green Martians. |
| 305 | * ''Film/TheCabinetOfDrCaligari'': Doctor Caligari, Cesare, and the rest. |
| 306 | * ''Film/{{Metropolis}}'': The Machine Man, Freder, Rotwang, and all the other inhabitants of Metropolis. |
| 307 | * ''Franchise/UniversalHorror'': |
| 308 | ** In addition to his literary version (see the Literature section), [[Film/ThePhantomOfTheOpera1925 the 1925 version]] of the Phantom of the Opera and related characters. The 1925 film has actually been PD in the US since ''1954'' because Creator/{{Universal}} failed to renew the copyright back when that was required. |
| 309 | ** Ditto for ''Film/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame1923'', right down to Universal failing to renew copyright, meaning that it's been PD in the US since 1952. |
| 310 | ** ''Film/TheCatAndTheCanary'' had also notably lapsed back in 1955 as Universal had failed to renew its rights making it public domain in the US. |
| 311 | ** ''Film/TheManWhoLaughs'' enters the public domain in 2024 in the US with the titular character having notably served as the visual inspiration for the DC Comics supervillain The Joker. |
| 312 | * ''Film/{{Nosferatu}}'': Count Orlok. |
| 313 | * Vietnam veteran Andy Crocker of ''[[https://web.archive.org/web/20190626225424/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ballad_of_Andy_Crocker The Ballad of Andy Crocker]]''. |
| 314 | * Film/TheGiantGilaMonster. |
| 315 | * [=McLintock=] and the others from, well, ''Film/McLintock'' |
| 316 | * [[https://web.archive.org/web/20190701211340/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rin_Tin_Tin Rin Tin Tin]]. |
| 317 | * Esther, Norman, and the others from ''Film/AStarIsBorn1937''. (But only the original, none of the remakes.) |
| 318 | * [[Film/ABucketOfBlood Walter Paisley]] who would go on to become a recurring character for Creator/DickMiller in numerous [[Film/ChoppingMall Corman]] films and even a few of [[Film/TheHowling Joe Dante’s movies]]. |
| 319 | [[/folder]] |
| 320 | |
| 321 | [[folder:Folklore and Mythology]] |
| 322 | * Characters from ancient Greek and Roman mythology and literature, such as [[Characters/ClassicalMythology Hercules]], [[Literature/TheIliad Achilles]], [[Literature/TheOdyssey Odysseus]], Theatre/{{Oedipus|TheKing}}, [[Characters/ClassicalMythology Orpheus]], as well as the various gods and goddesses. Myth/NorseMythology is also used as a background for many stories, but less often than Greek and Roman myths. |
| 323 | * [[Characters/ClassicalMythology Greco-Roman Mythology]]: |
| 324 | ** Actaeon |
| 325 | ** Aeneas and Dido, as well as the other figures featured in [[Literature/TheAeneid The Aeneid]]. |
| 326 | ** {{Theatre/Alcestis}} |
| 327 | ** Atalanta |
| 328 | ** Bellerophon, Pegasus and the Chimera |
| 329 | ** Cadmus |
| 330 | ** Cerberus |
| 331 | ** Chiron |
| 332 | ** Endymion and Selene |
| 333 | ** Heracles/Hercules and the various figures from his Twelve Labours |
| 334 | ** {{Theatre/Hippolytus}} and Phaedra |
| 335 | ** Hyperion |
| 336 | ** Icarus and his father Daedalus |
| 337 | ** [[Theatre/IphigeniaInTauris Iphigenia]] |
| 338 | ** Ixion |
| 339 | ** Janus |
| 340 | ** Jason and the Argonauts |
| 341 | ** Kratos/Cratus, not the one from the popular [[VideoGame/GodofWar video game franchise]] however. |
| 342 | ** {{Theatre/Medea}} |
| 343 | ** King Midas |
| 344 | ** The figures from [[Literature/TheOdyssey The Odyssey]]: Calypso, Charybdis, Odysseus, Penelope, Polyphemus, Scylla and Telemachus. |
| 345 | ** [[Theatre/OedipusTheKing Oedipus, Antigone and Jocasta]] |
| 346 | ** The Olympian Gods: Zeus/Jove, Poseidon/Neptune, Hades/Pluto, Hera/Juno, Demeter/Ceres, Aphrodite/Venus, Athena/Minerva, Artemis/Diana, Apollo, Ares/Mars, Hephaestus/Vulcan, Hermes/Mercury, Hestia/Vesta and Dionysus/Bacchus as well as their Roman Counterparts |
| 347 | ** [[Theatre/TheOresteia Orestes, Electra and Clytemnestra]] |
| 348 | ** Orion |
| 349 | ** Orpheus and Eurydices |
| 350 | ** Perseus, {{Medusa}} and Andromeda |
| 351 | ** [[Theatre/PrometheusBound Prometheus, Polyphemus and Pandora]] |
| 352 | ** Romulus and Remus |
| 353 | ** [[Literature/TheThebaid The Seven Against Thebes]]: Polynices, Tydeus, Amphiaraus, Capaneus, Parthenopaeus, Hippomedon and Eteocles along with Adrastus. |
| 354 | ** Sisyphus and Thanatos |
| 355 | ** Tantalus |
| 356 | ** The Gods of the {{Literature/Theogony}}: Cronus/Saturn, Gaia/Terra, Ouranos/Uranus, Rhea, Etc. |
| 357 | ** Theseus and the Minotaur |
| 358 | ** The figures of the [[Literature/TheIliad Trojan War]], Achilles, Agamemnon, {{Theatre/Ajax}}, Andromache, Diomedes, Hector, Hecuba, Helen, Menelaus, Neoptolemus, Nestor, Paris, Patroclus, {{Theatre/Philoctetes}}, Priam and others. |
| 359 | ** Typhon |
| 360 | * Note also that the ''names'' Gandalf, Dvalin, Fili, Kili, Dori, Nori, Ori, Gloin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Thorin, Thror, Thrain, Dain, Durin, and Fundin all show up in the old Norse poem Völuspá... as newly created dwarves, who are never mentioned again. As ''names'', they are in the public domain. Of course, if you try to portray Gandalf as a wizard rather than a dwarf, you might be hearing from the lawyers of [[Creator/JRRTolkien a certain estate]]... |
| 361 | * [[Characters/NorseMythology Norse Mythology]] |
| 362 | ** The Aesir, the Vanir and the Jotunn |
| 363 | ** Baldur |
| 364 | ** Fenrir |
| 365 | ** Freyja |
| 366 | ** Freyr |
| 367 | ** Frigg |
| 368 | ** Garmr |
| 369 | ** Heimdall |
| 370 | ** Hel |
| 371 | ** Jörmungandr |
| 372 | ** Loki |
| 373 | ** Mimir |
| 374 | ** Nidhöggr |
| 375 | ** Odin |
| 376 | ** Ratatoskr |
| 377 | ** Sif |
| 378 | ** Surtr |
| 379 | ** Thor |
| 380 | ** Tyr |
| 381 | ** Utgard-Loki |
| 382 | ** The Valkyrie and the Einherjar |
| 383 | ** Ymir |
| 384 | * {{God}}. In fact, all figures from religions that were founded before the 20th century. Still, it would probably be a bad idea to say that God looks shockingly like [[Film/BruceAlmighty Morgan Freeman]], or [[Film/OhGod George Burns]]. Others include: |
| 385 | ** UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} |
| 386 | ** Abraham |
| 387 | ** Adam and Eve |
| 388 | ** TheAntichrist |
| 389 | ** ArchangelAzrael |
| 390 | ** ArchangelGabriel |
| 391 | ** ArchangelMichael |
| 392 | ** ArchangelRaphael |
| 393 | ** ArchangelUriel |
| 394 | ** CainAndAbel |
| 395 | ** Enoch |
| 396 | ** HorsemenOfTheApocalypse |
| 397 | ** {{Myth/Lilith}} |
| 398 | ** {{Metatron}} |
| 399 | ** TheThreeWiseMen |
| 400 | ** {{Satan}} (aka Lucifer aka The Devil, though some treatments make these more than one character) |
| 401 | ** Nimrod |
| 402 | ** Noah |
| 403 | ** Moses |
| 404 | ** Prester John |
| 405 | ** King David |
| 406 | ** King Solomon |
| 407 | ** Ahura Mazda -- a car manufacturer stole his name. |
| 408 | ** UsefulNotes/TheVirginMary |
| 409 | ** Christian {{Patron Saint}}s, for example St. Patrick, St. Valentine, or St. Cuthbert[[note]]Yes, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuthbert Cuthbert]] existed before ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''[[/note]]. |
| 410 | ** The [[{{Kaiju}} Tarasque]] from the legend of St. Martha in the ''Golden Legend''.[[note]]Again, yes. The Tarasque existed before ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''[[/note]]. |
| 411 | ** {{Asmodeus}}, Demon of Lust |
| 412 | ** {{Baphomet}} |
| 413 | ** {{Beelzebub}}, Demon of Gluttony |
| 414 | ** Belphegor, Demon of Sloth |
| 415 | ** {{Mammon}}, Demon of Greed |
| 416 | ** {{Mephistopheles}} |
| 417 | ** Behemoth and Leviathan |
| 418 | ** Literature/SamsonAndDelilah |
| 419 | * TheGrimReaper |
| 420 | ** {{Shinigami}} |
| 421 | * SantaClaus, unless YouMeanXmas |
| 422 | ** MrsClaus |
| 423 | ** All of Santa's reindeer ''except'' Literature/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer (and WesternAnimation/{{Olive|TheOtherReindeer}}). |
| 424 | ** JackFrost |
| 425 | ** TheKrampus |
| 426 | ** UsefulNotes/{{Sinterklaas}} (and, by default, St. Nicholas) |
| 427 | * Myth/ArthurianLegend |
| 428 | ** The many Knights of the Round Table and Knights of the Grail, including [[TheAce Lancelot]], [[NumberTwo Bedivere]], [[ThePaladin Galahad]], [[Literature/{{Parzival}} Percival]], and [[SoleSurvivor Bors]]. But not [[Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail Sir Robin]]. |
| 429 | ** Myth/KingArthur |
| 430 | ** Myth/TheLadyOfTheLake ([[EnigmaticEmpoweringEntity or an equivalent]]) |
| 431 | ** Myth/{{Merlin}} |
| 432 | ** [[Literature/SirGawainAndTheGreenKnight Gawain and the Green Knight]] |
| 433 | ** Morgan Le Fey |
| 434 | ** Guinevere |
| 435 | ** [[Literature/PercevalTheStoryofTheGrail The Fisher King]] |
| 436 | * [[UsefulNotes/{{Shinto}} Amaterasu]], Susanoo, and [[{{Orochi}} Yamata no Orochi]]. |
| 437 | * [[Characters/CelticMythology Celtic Mythology]] |
| 438 | ** {{Cernunnos}} |
| 439 | ** Clíodhna |
| 440 | ** [[Literature/TheCattleRaidofCooley Cú Chulainn]] |
| 441 | ** Diarmuid Ua Duibhne |
| 442 | ** Fionn Mac Cumhail |
| 443 | ** The Morrígan |
| 444 | ** Pwyll |
| 445 | ** Oisín |
| 446 | ** Rhiannon |
| 447 | ** The Tuatha Dé Danann |
| 448 | * [[Characters/AztecMythology Aztec Mythology]] |
| 449 | ** Huitzilopochi |
| 450 | ** Quetzalcoatl |
| 451 | * [[Characters/EgyptianMythology Egyptian Mythology]] |
| 452 | ** Anubis |
| 453 | ** Bast |
| 454 | ** Horus |
| 455 | ** Imhotep |
| 456 | ** Isis |
| 457 | ** Khepri |
| 458 | ** Neith |
| 459 | ** Osiris |
| 460 | ** Ra |
| 461 | ** Sekhmet |
| 462 | ** Set |
| 463 | ** Sobek |
| 464 | ** Thoth |
| 465 | * [[Characters/HinduMythology Hindu Mythology]] |
| 466 | ** Agni |
| 467 | ** Brahma |
| 468 | ** Ganesha |
| 469 | ** Kali |
| 470 | ** [[{{Literature/Mahabharata}} Krishna]] |
| 471 | ** [[{{Literature/Ramayana}} Rama]] |
| 472 | ** Ravana |
| 473 | ** Shiva |
| 474 | ** Sita |
| 475 | ** Vamana |
| 476 | ** Vishnu |
| 477 | * The various Cryptids of the world: {{Bigfoot|SasquatchAndYeti}}, {{Chupacabra}}, TheFlatwoodsMonster, JerseyDevil, TheMothman, Ropin, Yeti, Etc. |
| 478 | * {{Myth/Robin Hood}} and his Merry Men |
| 479 | ** Alan-a-Dale |
| 480 | ** Friar Tuck |
| 481 | ** Little John |
| 482 | ** Maid Marian |
| 483 | ** The Sheriff of Nottingham |
| 484 | * [[Characters/AkanMythology Anansi]] |
| 485 | * Literature/BabaYaga |
| 486 | * Baron Samedi |
| 487 | * TheBigBadWolf |
| 488 | * The Bogeyman |
| 489 | * [[{{UsefulNotes/Buddhism}} The Buddha]] |
| 490 | * Chernobog and Belobog |
| 491 | * DavyJones |
| 492 | * EasterBunny |
| 493 | * FatherTime |
| 494 | * Myth/{{Faust}} |
| 495 | * [[Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh Gilgamesh and Enkidu]] |
| 496 | * [[Literature/TheSagaOfGrettirTheStrong Grettir The Strong]] |
| 497 | * [[Literature/TheBalladOfMulan Hua Mulan]] |
| 498 | * TheIlluminati and UsefulNotes/TheKnightsTemplar. |
| 499 | * Ishtar (Inanna) |
| 500 | * Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru from ''Literature/JiraiyaGoketsuMonogatari''. Yep, that's where [[Manga/{{Naruto}} they]] came from. |
| 501 | ** In the same vein, the [[OldMaster Third Hokage (Hiruzen Sarutobi)]] and [[TheLancer Sasuke Uchiha]] were named after UsefulNotes/SarutobiSasuke. |
| 502 | * Jorogumo |
| 503 | * {{Myth/La Llorona}} |
| 504 | * Literature/{{Momotaro}} |
| 505 | * Maui |
| 506 | * Miss Columbia |
| 507 | * MotherNature |
| 508 | * [[Myth/NyangaMythology Mwindo]] |
| 509 | * [[Literature/TheSagaOfArrowOdd Örvar-Oddr]] |
| 510 | * Myth/{{Paul Bunyan}} and Babe The Blue Ox |
| 511 | * Pele |
| 512 | * [[Literature/RagnarLodbrokAndHisSons Ragnar Lödbrok]] |
| 513 | * TheSandman |
| 514 | * Santa Muerte |
| 515 | * [[{{Literature/Nibelungenlied}} Siegfried, Brunhilde and the dragon Fáfnir]] |
| 516 | * SpringHeeledJack |
| 517 | * StingyJack |
| 518 | * Literature/TamLin |
| 519 | * [[Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream Titania, Oberon and Puck]] |
| 520 | * ToothFairy |
| 521 | * [[UncleSamWantsYou Uncle Sam]] |
| 522 | * {{Myth/Wayland The Smith}} |
| 523 | * {{Myth/William Tell}} |
| 524 | * [[Literature/TheShahnameh Zahhak, The Serpent King]] |
| 525 | [[/folder]] |
| 526 | |
| 527 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 528 | * Alice and other characters from ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'' and ''Through the Looking-Glass''. |
| 529 | ** One of Creator/LewisCarroll's minor stories, "What the Tortoise Said to Achilles", written in 1895, was appropriated (with acknowledgment) by Douglas R. Hofstadter as a model for the dialogues in ''Literature/GodelEscherBachAnEternalGoldenBraid''. The characters of the Tortoise and Achilles had in turn been suggested by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeno%27s_paradoxes an ancient Greek paradox]]. |
| 530 | * [[Literature/KingSolomonsMines Allan Quatermain]]. |
| 531 | * The works of Creator/AnneBronte: |
| 532 | ** Literature/AgnesGrey |
| 533 | ** [[Literature/TheTenantOfWildfellHall Helen Huntington]] |
| 534 | * The characters of some of the best-known ''Literature/ArabianNights'' stories, although their personalities and abilities are often radically changed in modern treatments. Examples include: |
| 535 | ** Scheherazade |
| 536 | ** Literature/{{Aladdin}} (and his genie) |
| 537 | ** Literature/SinbadTheSailor |
| 538 | ** Literature/{{Ali Baba|AndTheFortyThieves}} |
| 539 | * Literature/ArseneLupin: Many of his stories are in the public domain in the United States, including the famous "crossovers" with Sherlock Holmes. At the time they were written Doyle put an end to Leblanc's efforts and the detective was forced to match wits with the GentlemanThief under the pseudonyms "Herlock Sholmes" and "Holmlock Shears". Now that both characters are freely available US publishers tend to publish the stories the way they were intended with the two great literary characters intersecting as {{worthy opponent}}s. |
| 540 | ** In addition, the anime series ''Manga/LupinIII'', which focused on Lupin's grandson, can now be released under its original title outside of Japan; previously, the character was called "Rupan" or "The Wolf" in English-speaking countries. |
| 541 | * [[Literature/TheThinkingMachine Augustus S.F.X. Van Dusen]] |
| 542 | * [[{{Literature/She}} Ayesha, She Who Must Be Obeyed]] |
| 543 | * Literature/{{Babar}} is in the public domain in most countries except the United States, Peru and Brazil, as author and illustrator Jean de Brunhoff died in 1937. In the latter two countries, the book series will enter the public domain after the last of his sons dies. Eldest son Laurent de Brunhoff, who died in 2024, took over the series after his father's death; his younger brothers are still alive. |
| 544 | * Literature/{{Beowulf}} |
| 545 | * Pulp superhero the Literature/BlackBat has fallen into the public domain since his heyday in the 1930s. |
| 546 | * ComicStrip/BuckRogers, In the U.S. the original 2 novellas have lapsed into the public domain as their rights had failed to renew back in the 1950s. |
| 547 | ** In the original novellas however he is known as Anthony Rogers with the nickname “Buck” not being introduced until the comic strips release which is still under copyright. |
| 548 | * Literature/BulldogDrummond |
| 549 | * [[Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea Captain Nemo]] and almost every other character created by [[Creator/JulesVerne Verne.]] Characters from Literature/ParisInTheTwentiethCentury are the only exception, as it was only published in 1994, 89 years after his death. |
| 550 | * {{Literature/Carmilla}} |
| 551 | * Literature/CarnackiTheGhostFinder, created by Creator/WilliamHopeHodgson. |
| 552 | ** Similarly Literature/TheHouseOnTheBorderLand and Literature/TheNightLand are also public domain worldwide as Hodgson died in 1918 well over 100 years ago. |
| 553 | * The works of Creator/CharlotteBronte: |
| 554 | ** Literature/JaneEyre |
| 555 | * Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian has been public domain in the United Kingdom, and almost everywhere in the EU, since January 2007 (70 years after the death of Creator/RobertEHoward). In Spain, with its "life plus 80" term for creators who died before 1987, it became PD in January 2017. In Australia, Canada, Japan, and New Zealand, all the Conan stories published by Howard in his lifetime had been in the public domain since 1987. In the USA, at least two-thirds of the Conan stories actually by Howard (as opposed to [[PosthumousCollaboration posthumous "collaborations"]] with Creator/LSpragueDeCamp and others) are also in the public domain, since the copyrights were not renewed. However, anyone planning on doing their own version of Conan must be careful not to upset the '''trademark''' holder, [[http://www.conan.com/ip.shtml Conan Properties International, which has defended the mark very energetically]].[[note]]As noted above, ads for Creator/ConanOBrien's new show ''Conan'' contain the notice "CONAN is used with the permission of Conan Properties International LLC.".[[/note]] It should also be noted that many other aspects of the Conan setting (e.g. ''ComicBook/RedSonja'') are not from the original Howard stories and are still under copyright. |
| 556 | * [[Literature/TheSandman1816 Coppelius and Olimpia]]. |
| 557 | * Literature/DoctorDolittle: |
| 558 | ** The entire series has been PD in Mexico since 1978, Australia, Canada, Japan, and New Zealand since 1998, and in the EU (except Spain) and UK since 2018, as Hugh Lofting died in 1947. |
| 559 | ** Since the US copyright term of works from Lofting's lifetime is based on the date of publication instead of the creator's lifespan, only the first seven books and the only short story, published between 1920 and 1927, are currently public domain in the US. The last ''Doctor Dolittle'' book that included original material wasn't published until 1950 and thus will not enter the US PD until 2046. The final Dolittle book, published in 1952, was a compilation of stories that had been published between 1920 and 1927; the book itself won't be PD until 2048, but since 2023 all of its contents are PD. |
| 560 | * Doctor Omega, a Series/DoctorWho-esque space-traveling scientist created by Arnould Galopin. |
| 561 | * ''Theatre/DonGiovanni'': Don Juan. |
| 562 | * [[Literature/DonQuixote Don Quixote and Sancho Panza]] |
| 563 | * [[Literature/ThePictureOfDorianGray Dorian Gray]], and in fact all of Wilde's works. |
| 564 | * [[Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde]]. |
| 565 | ** As well as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markheim Markheim]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bottle_Imp the Bottle-Imp]]. |
| 566 | * [[https://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Dr._Nikola#:~:text=Dr.%20Nikola%20is%20a%20mad%20genius%20and%20criminal,has%20two%20major%20goals%3A%20immortality%20and%20world%20domination Dr. Nikola]]. |
| 567 | * ''Literature/{{Dracula}}'': Count Dracula, Abraham Van Helsing, and all the other Creator/BramStoker characters. |
| 568 | * [[Literature/AChristmasCarol Ebenezer Scrooge and the ghosts of Christmas]]. |
| 569 | * The works of Creator/EdgarAllanPoe |
| 570 | ** Literature/AnnabelLee |
| 571 | ** [[Literature/TheNarrativeOfArthurGordonPymOfNantucket Arthur Gordon Pym]] |
| 572 | ** Literature/CAugusteDupin. |
| 573 | ** [[{{Literature/Berenice}} Egaeus and Berenice]] |
| 574 | ** [[Literature/TheCaskOfAmontillado Montresor and Fortunato]] |
| 575 | ** {{Literature/Morella}} |
| 576 | ** [[Literature/TheBlackCat Pluto, The Black Cat]] |
| 577 | ** [[Literature/TheMasqueOfTheRedDeath Prince Prospero and the Red Death]] |
| 578 | ** [[Literature/TheFallOfTheHouseOfUsher Roderick and Madeline Usher]] |
| 579 | ** Literature/TheRaven |
| 580 | ** Literature/TheTellTaleHeart |
| 581 | ** Literature/WilliamWilson |
| 582 | * Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs: The first six books of his Mars series, where Literature/JohnCarterOfMars appeared, were published before 1928 and are out of copyright in the USA. |
| 583 | ** Likewise, the first nine books plus the first short story collection of Burroughs' most famous creation, Franchise/{{Tarzan}}, are public domain in the United States; however, Disney has tried to claim trademark rights, at least in Denmark. [[http://www.erblist.com/erbmania/trademark.html The Burroughs corporation beat them to it]]. The Burroughs estate also co-owns the copyright in [[WesternAnimation/{{Tarzan}} the Disney Tarzan film]], explaining why that particular version of the character has made few appearances. |
| 584 | ** Since Burroughs died in 1950, all of his works entered the public domain in Mexico in 1981 (which still used life plus 30), Australia, Canada, Japan and New Zealand in 2001, and in the EU (except Spain) and UK in 2021. Spain has to wait until 2031. |
| 585 | * The works of Creator/EdwardSEllis: |
| 586 | ** {{Literature/Deerfoot}} |
| 587 | ** [[Literature/SethJonesOrTheCaptivesOfTheFrontier Seth Jones]] |
| 588 | ** Literature/TheSteamManOfThePrairies |
| 589 | * The works of Creator/EmilyBronte: |
| 590 | ** [[Literature/WutheringHeights Catherine Earnshaw, Heathcliff and the others]] |
| 591 | * Emmeline, Dick, and other characters of Creator/HenryDeVereStacpoole's ''Literature/TheBlueLagoon'' became public domain in the EU (except Spain) in 2022; in Australia, Canada, Japan, and New Zealand in 2002; and in Mexico in 1982. They, however, are still under copyright in Spain until 2032 (author Stacpoole died in 1951). |
| 592 | ** It was a different situation in the US, where ''The Blue Lagoon'' entered the public domain in ''1965'', before the aforementioned changes in US copyright law took effect in 1978. |
| 593 | * Creator/FScottFitzgerald: |
| 594 | ** Since he died in 1940, all of his works became PD in Mexico (which then used life plus 30) in 1971 and in the UK, Canada, Australia, Japan, and New Zealand in 1991. |
| 595 | ** However, due to the aforementioned change in EU copyright law (this was long before Brexit), they went back into copyright in the UK in 1996. On the other hand, because Australia, Canada, and Japan didn't make their changes to "life plus 70" retroactive, Fitzgerald's works remained PD in those countries. The same applied in Mexico, which didn't make its later term extensions retroactive. |
| 596 | ** They became PD in almost all of the EU (and the UK) in 2011. Spain had to wait until 2021. |
| 597 | ** As for the US, the PD date for works from his lifetime depends on the date of publication. His first novel, ''Literature/ThisSideOfParadise'', went PD in 2016, followed by ''Literature/TheBeautifulAndDamned'' as well as his first two short story collections in 2018 and ''Literature/TheGreatGatsby'' in 2021. ''Literature/TenderIsTheNight'' will have to wait until 2030.. |
| 598 | * ''Literature/LittleHouseOnThePrairie'' |
| 599 | * The Finnish novel ''Paimen, piika ja emäntä'' by Auni Nuolivaraa, which is best known for being adapted into the anime ''Anime/KatriGirlOfTheMeadows''. |
| 600 | * Any character from traditional {{fairy tale}}s, including those of: |
| 601 | ** Creator/HansChristianAndersen |
| 602 | *** Literature/TheEmperorsNewClothes |
| 603 | *** Literature/TheLittleMatchGirl |
| 604 | *** Literature/TheLittleMermaid |
| 605 | *** Literature/TheSnowQueen |
| 606 | *** Literature/TheSteadfastTinSoldier |
| 607 | *** {{Literature/Thumbelina}} |
| 608 | *** Literature/TheUglyDuckling |
| 609 | ** Creator/CharlesPerrault |
| 610 | *** {{Literature/Bluebeard}} |
| 611 | *** {{Literature/Cinderella}} |
| 612 | *** Literature/LittleRedRidingHood |
| 613 | *** Literature/PussInBoots |
| 614 | *** Literature/SleepingBeauty |
| 615 | ** Creator/TheBrothersGrimm. |
| 616 | *** Literature/TheBraveLittleTailor |
| 617 | *** Literature/TheFrogPrince |
| 618 | *** Literature/HanselAndGretel |
| 619 | *** {{Literature/Rapunzel}} |
| 620 | *** {{Literature/Rumpelstiltskin}} |
| 621 | *** Literature/SnowWhite |
| 622 | *** Literature/SnowWhiteAndRoseRed |
| 623 | ** Literature/BeautyAndTheBeast |
| 624 | ** {{Literature/Goldilocks}} |
| 625 | * {{Literature/Fantomas}}, the first 37 books, including the entirety of Pierre Souvestre works with the character, are in the public domain in the United States. |
| 626 | * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Reade Frank Reade]]. |
| 627 | * Literature/FuManchu: |
| 628 | ** The first three books published prior to 1925 are public domain in the USA; however, some characters are not public domain since they were introduced later, particularly his daughter Fah Lo Suee, who despite being introduced in the third book in 1917 was not named until the fourth book in 1931. This has caused problems for Creator/MarvelComics, who cannot reprint ''Master of Kung Fu'', which uses not only Fu Manchu but other characters from the series. For instance, the martial arts hero Shang-Chi is a Marvel character and the son of Fu Manchu. Many stories refer to Shang's father being a Chinese crime lord but he is never seen or mentioned by name. Also, Fu Manchu is not in the public domain in Europe and the UK (the series' author Sax Rohmer died in 1959), and Alan Moore could not name him in ''ComicBook/LeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen''. However, due to the different copyright terms in Canada, Japan, and New Zealand, the entire Fu Manchu series is PD in all three countries. |
| 629 | ** Similarly, it is strongly intimated in the novelization of ''Film/TheAdventuresOfBuckarooBanzaiAcrossTheEighthDimension'' that Hanoi Xan, the [[HeWhoMustNotBeSeen unseen]] BigBad who was completely edited out of the movie, is in fact Fu Manchu, but it's never explicitly stated. |
| 630 | * Most, if not all, of Creator/GKChesterton's characters. They're not often used for this purpose, but Literature/FatherBrown has been known to have a cameo here and there. |
| 631 | ** Since Chesterton died in 1936, all of his works are PD in all major territories except the US. Since the US copyright term for works from Chesterton's lifetime is based on the date of publication, about two-thirds of his works are PD in the States. As for Father Brown, he made his first appearance in 1910, making him PD there (elements that were only introduced in post-1927 works are still under copyright, but those can easily be worked around). |
| 632 | * All the works of the Greco-Roman Authors (at least in their original language; translations may be under copyright). |
| 633 | ** {{Creator/Aeschylus}}: Theatre/TheOresteia, Theatre/ThePersians, Theatre/PrometheusBound. |
| 634 | ** {{Creator/Aesop}}: Literature/TheBoyWhoCriedWolf, Literature/TheGrasshopperAndTheAnts, Literature/TheTortoiseAndTheHare |
| 635 | ** Apollonius of Rhodes: {{Literature/Argonautica}} |
| 636 | ** Apuleius: Literature/TheGoldenAss. |
| 637 | ** {{Creator/Aristophanes}}: Theatre/TheBirds, Theatre/TheClouds, Theatre/TheFrogs. |
| 638 | ** {{Creator/Aristotle}}: {{Literature/Metaphysics}}, Literature/Politics(Aristotle), {{Literature/Poetics}}. |
| 639 | ** Creator/AugustineOfHippo: Literature/ConfessionsOfSaintAugustine, Literature/OnChristianDoctrine, Literature/OnTheCityOfTheGods. |
| 640 | ** {{Creator/Catullus}}: [[Literature/CatulliCarmen16 To Lesbia]]. |
| 641 | ** {{Creator/Cicero}}: {{Literature/Letters}}, Literature/OnTheRepublic, Literature/OnTheNatureOfTheGods. |
| 642 | ** {{Creator/Euripides}}: {{Theatre/Bacchae}}, {{Theatre/Hippolytus}}, {{Theatre/Medea}}. |
| 643 | ** Herotodus: {{Literature/TheHistories}}. |
| 644 | ** {{Creator/Hesiod}}: Literature/Theogony, Literature/WorksAndDays. |
| 645 | ** {{Creator/Homer}}: Literature/TheIliad, Literature/TheOdyssey. |
| 646 | ** {{Creator/Horace}}: {{Literature/Epistles}}, {{Literature/Odes}}, {{Literature/Satires}}. |
| 647 | ** UsefulNotes/JuliusCaesar: Literature/CommentariesOnTheCivilWar, Literature/CommentariesOnTheGallicWar. |
| 648 | ** {{Creator/Juvenal}}: Literature/TheSatires. |
| 649 | ** Lucan: {{Literature/Pharsalia}}. |
| 650 | ** Lucian of Samosata: Literature/ATrueStory |
| 651 | ** Menander: {{Theatre/Aspis}}, {{Theatre/Dyskolos}}, {{Theatre/Perikeiromene}}. |
| 652 | ** Nonnus: {{Literature/Dionysiaca}}. |
| 653 | ** {{Creator/Ovid}}: Literature/AraAmatoria, Literature/EpistolaeHeroidum, Literature/TheMetamorphoses. |
| 654 | ** {{Creator/Plato}}: Literature/ApologyOfSocrates, Literature/TheRepublic, {{Literature/Symposium}}. |
| 655 | ** {{Creator/Plautus}}: {{Theatre/Epidicus}}, {{Theatre/Menaechmi}}, {{Theatre/Mercator}}. |
| 656 | ** Pliny The Elder: Literature/NaturalHistory. |
| 657 | ** Plutarch: {{Literature/Moralia}}, Literature/ParallelLives. |
| 658 | ** Quintus Smyrnaeus: {{Literature/Posthomerica}}. |
| 659 | ** [[{{Creator/Seneca}} Seneca The Younger]]: Theatre/HerculesFurens, {{Theatre/Phoenissae}}, {{Theatre/Thyestes}}. |
| 660 | ** {{Creator/Sophocles}}: {{Theatre/Ajax}}, Theatre/OedipusTheKing, {{Theatre/Philoctetes}}. |
| 661 | ** Statius: Literature/TheAchilleid, Literature/TheThebaid. |
| 662 | ** {{Creator/Thucydides}}: UsefulNotes/ThePeloponnesianWar. |
| 663 | ** {{Creator/Virgil}}: Literature/TheAeneid, {{Literature/Eclouges}}, Literature/TheGeorgics. |
| 664 | ** {{Creator/Xenophon}}: {{Literature/Anabasis}}, {{Literature/Cyropaedia}}, {{Literature/Hellenica}}. |
| 665 | * [[Literature/TheMetamorphosis Gregor Samsa]] |
| 666 | * Literature/{{Heidi}} |
| 667 | * Creator/HPLovecraft: Several of his characters, including Literature/{{Herbert West|Reanimator}} and Randolph Carter. Additionally, Lovecraft actually encouraged other writers to use the Franchise/CthulhuMythos in other works, thus making the mythos in general, and such characters as Cthulhu and Yog-Sothoth, essentially in the public domain. ''All'' of Lovecraft's works became public domain in the European Union except Spain on January 1, 2008; Spain followed 10 years later. Due to differing copyright laws, only 34 of his 65 works of fiction (those published before 1929) are undeniably public domain in the United States. |
| 668 | ** Some research has suggested that later Lovecraft stories, produced during the time when copyright had to be renewed, were not renewed, making more characters out of copyright; this hasn't yet been tested in court. Website/TheOtherWiki has some information [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.P._Lovecraft#Intellectual_property here]]. |
| 669 | *** Lovecraft's later works are copyright of Arkham House, a publishing company started by Lovecraft's contemporaries August Derleth and Donald Wandrei. D&D tried to integrate the Cthulhu mythos and was almost sued by a rival company Arkham had sold the rights to... it's complicated. |
| 670 | *** They weren't ''sued'' so much as Creator/{{Chaosium}} demanded that Creator/{{TSR}} put a ShoutOut to them prominently on the credits page of ''Deities and Demigods'', for TSR's use of both the Cthulhu and Elric universes (even though in the latter case, Creator/MichaelMoorcock himself had given TSR his enthusiastic blessing to use his characters Chaosium license or no.) After the first printing, someone at TSR said "this is nuts -- why are we giving free advertising to a competitor?" and decided to strip both the infringing material and the shout-out from the book. |
| 671 | * Creator/HGWells's [[Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds Martians]] |
| 672 | ** [[Literature/TheIslandOfDoctorMoreau Dr. Moreau]] (along with his Beast-Men creations) |
| 673 | ** [[Literature/TheTimeMachine The Morlocks and Eloi]], and |
| 674 | ** Literature/TheInvisibleMan |
| 675 | * [[Literature/TheKingInYellow Hastur, the King in Yellow]] |
| 676 | * Literature/HerculePoirot: The first seven Creator/AgathaChristie novels, four of which feature her famous character, but only in the US. Her first short story collection, also featuring Poirot, is also PD in the US. |
| 677 | * [[Literature/TheTaleOfGenji Hikaru Genji]] |
| 678 | * [[Literature/TheLegendOfSleepyHollow Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman]]. |
| 679 | * Literature/{{Ivanhoe}}. |
| 680 | * ''Literature/JackAndTheBeanstalk'': Jack and the Giant. |
| 681 | * The literary Literature/JamesBond became public domain in Canada, Japan, and New Zealand in 2015, after 50 years had passed since Creator/IanFleming had died; an unofficial series of short stories is being published in Canada. |
| 682 | ** Aspects original to the James Bond movies are still under copyright. |
| 683 | * The works of Creator/JaneAusten: |
| 684 | ** [[{{Literature/Persuasion}} Anne Elliot and Captain Frederick Wentworth]] |
| 685 | ** [[Literature/NorthangerAbbey Catherine Morland]] |
| 686 | ** [[Literature/SenseAndSensibility Elinor Dashwood]] |
| 687 | ** [[Literature/PrideAndPrejudice Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy]] |
| 688 | ** [[{{Literature/Emma}} Emma Woodhouse]] |
| 689 | ** [[Literature/MansfieldPark Fanny Price]] |
| 690 | * [[Literature/LesMiserables Javert and Jean Valjean]] |
| 691 | * [[Literature/GulliversTravels Lemuel Gulliver and the various people and creatures he encounters in his travels.]] |
| 692 | * Literature/TheLittlePrince is in the public domain in most countries, as Creator/AntoineDeSaintExupery died in 1944. However, France gave his estate a 30-year extension as the author died in military service. Depending on your source, the book will enter the French public domain in either 2033 or 2045. |
| 693 | * [[Literature/TreasureIsland Long John Silver]] and associates. |
| 694 | * The works of Creator/LordByron: |
| 695 | ** [[Literature/ChildeHaroldsPilgrimage Harold]] |
| 696 | ** {{Theatre/Manfred}} |
| 697 | * Literature/LordPeterWimsey: The first novel, ''Whose Body?'' (published in 1923), has been in the public domain in Canada, Japan, and New Zealand since 2008 (the original author, Creator/DorothyLSayers, died in 1957). As for the US, because Sayers' representatives failed to apply for an extension of copyright, it entered the public domain in ''1952''.[[note]]At that time, the standard copyright term was only 28 years, with an extension to 56 years available if the holder applied for renewal in a timely manner. This renewal requirement no longer exists.[[/note]] However, none of the Wimsey books will be PD in the UK, most of the EU, or Australia until 2028, in Spain until 2038, or in Mexico until 2058. And this applies only to the books Sayers wrote during her life; the modern Wimsey books by the still-living Jill Paton Walsh are decades away from becoming PD anywhere. |
| 698 | * The characters of Creator/MarkTwain (who himself did this with Myth/KingArthur and the Knights of the Round Table!) |
| 699 | ** [[Literature/TheAdventuresOfTomSawyer Tom Sawyer and Injun Joe]] |
| 700 | ** [[Literature/TheAdventuresOfHuckleberryFinn Huckleberry Finn and Jim]] |
| 701 | ** Literature/TheCelebratedJumpingFrogOfCalaverasCounty |
| 702 | * Literature/MartinFierro |
| 703 | * [[Literature/LittleWomen Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March]] |
| 704 | * Literature/MobyDick, Captain Ahab, and Ishmael. |
| 705 | * MotherGoose characters, like Humpty Dumpty, Old King Cole, and Mother Goose. |
| 706 | * Mowgli and other characters from Creator/RudyardKipling's ''Literature/TheJungleBook''. |
| 707 | ** Kipling's works originally entered the public domain in the EU in 1987, following the 50th anniversary of his death. When this was extended to 70 years, with the change being made retroactive, his works went back ''into'' copyright until 2007. Except in Spain, where they never entered the PD in the first place and remained in copyright until 2017 due to its former "life plus 80" term. |
| 708 | *** They entered the public domain in Australia, Canada, Japan, and New Zealand at the same time they did in the EU (except Spain), and in Mexico in 1967, but never went back into copyright. Australia changed to a "life plus 70" term, but ''didn't'' make the change retroactive. Mexico also didn't make ''its'' later changes to "life plus 50", "life plus 75", and "life plus 100" retroactive. Canada and Japan didn't change to "life plus 70" until more than 80 years after Kipling's death. NZ still uses the "life plus 50" term. |
| 709 | *** The situation was ''very'' different in the US. ''The Jungle Book'' entered the US public domain in ''1951''; before changes in US copyright law that took effect in 1978, the maximum copyright term was 56 years. |
| 710 | *** Though the original books are in the public domain, ''The Jungle Play''--a reworking of the stories written by Kipling--was discovered posthumously and not published until the early 2000s, leaving it under copyright. |
| 711 | * All characters in the [[Literature/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe Narnia]] series became public domain in Canada, Japan, and New Zealand in 2014 (C.S. Lewis died in 1963). |
| 712 | * [[Literature/TheLeatherstockingTales Natty Bumppo, Chingachgook]] and other characters by James Fenimore Cooper (who died in 1851). |
| 713 | * Literature/NickCarter |
| 714 | * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nyctalope Nyctalope]]. |
| 715 | * All works of Creator/PaulFeval including any of the few rare English translations made while he was alive. But not the recent translations made by Black Coat Press or Borgo Press. |
| 716 | ** ''Literature/TheBlackCoats'', and works made retroactively in continuity with them, ''Literature/JohnDevil'', ''Literature/GentlemenOfTheNight'', ''Bell Demonio'' and its sequel ''The Companions of Silence''. |
| 717 | ** ''Le Bossu'', both the novel and play, but not any of his many post-1925 films or the play's recent translation by Frank Morlock. |
| 718 | ** ''Literature/TheVampireCountess'', ''Literature/{{Knightshade}}'', and ''Literature/VampireCity'' |
| 719 | * Literature/PeterPan |
| 720 | ** Except in the United Kingdom, as it is one of the few fictional works to have a (limited) perpetual copyright, owned by the Great Ormond Street Hospital. This was gifted to them by Barrie himself in his will and confirmed by an Act of Parliament. Because of this, ''Peter Pan'' will never be in the public domain in the UK for as long as the hospital exists. However, GOSH only has the right to royalties; it does not have creative control over the material, and cannot refuse permission to use it. |
| 721 | ** The play is now PD in the US, but there was a dispute about exactly when. The play was first published in the UK in 1904, but wasn't performed in the US until 1928, which led GOSH to assert that the play didn't enter the US PD until 2024. The hospital acknowledged that the novel, first published in 1911, became PD in the States in 1987. |
| 722 | ** Given that Barrie died in 1937, Peter Pan entered the public domain in Mexico in 1968 (30 years after the creator's death), Australia, Canada, Japan and NZ in 1988 (50 years after), almost all of Europe in 2008 (70 years after), and Spain in 2018 (80 years after). |
| 723 | * [[Literature/TheTaleOfPeterRabbit Peter Rabbit]]: Creator/BeatrixPotter [[http://klminc.com/intellectual-property/peter-rabbit-loses-copyright-protection died in 1943]]. In the US, the character entered the PD in 1959; when the first Peter Rabbit story was published in 1902, the maximum copyright term was 56 years. However, Penguin Random House owns ancillary rights to the franchise. |
| 724 | * Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera, as well as the two other sides of his LoveTriangle. But tread lightly when adapting him so as to avoid taking too much inspiration from Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, which ''is'' under copyright worldwide. Or, for that matter, taking too much inspiration from ''any'' major adaptation except the [[Film/ThePhantomOfTheOpera1925 1925 film]]; all others are under copyright in the US. |
| 725 | * [[Literature/TheAdventuresOfPinocchio Pinocchio]] |
| 726 | * [[Literature/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame Quasimodo, Esmerelda, and Claude Frollo]]. |
| 727 | * The works of Creator/SamuelJohnson |
| 728 | ** Literature/ADictionaryOfTheEnglishLanguage |
| 729 | ** Literature/AJourneyToTheWesternIslesOfScotland |
| 730 | * ''Literature/TheSecretGarden'': Which is why there have been so many movie versions since 1995 (when the work became PD in the EU except Spain; parts of it became PD in the US in 1986 and the rest in 1987).[[note]]''The Secret Garden'' was first published as a magazine serial in the autumn of 1910, with installments continuing into 1911. Its book form was first published in both the US and UK in 1911.[[/note]] Also has an [[Anime/TheSecretGarden anime]]. |
| 731 | * Franchise/SherlockHolmes. Dr. Watson, too, or we'd have had lawsuits by now. |
| 732 | ** Sherlock Holmes illustrates the differences in international copyright law. The first stories have never had copyright in the US. When ''Franchise/StarTrek'' first included them, Paramount almost '''did''' get sued because they were [[http://web.archive.org/web/20170722173537/www.sherlockian.net/acd/copyright.html still under copyright in the UK]]. The Conan Doyle estate sent them a StronglyWordedLetter saying they'd have to pay a fee the next time they wanted to use Holmes, so they didn't revisit the character until two seasons later. |
| 733 | ** There were also issues in the US as well over the copyright status of Sherlock Holmes as a whole, due to the aforementioned few stories still in copyright--the Conan Doyle estate has long argued that as long as these stories are in copyright, so is the entire literary canon of Holmes. This reasoning was struck down by the courts, so Holmes himself was very much in the public domain in the US (and in other countries where the estate's argument doesn't hold legal water) for certain, aside from aspects covered by the few stories that where copyrighted until 2023, which was easily worked around if not ignored entirely. |
| 734 | ** A lawsuit by the Conan Doyle estate over the ''Film/EnolaHolmes'' films tried to assert that works which depict Holmes as a warmer and more caring person are not in the public domain, as stories depicting Holmes in this fashion apparently only appeared in ''Literature/TheCasebookOfSherlockHolmes'' -- which is, likely not coincidentally, the only volume of Holmes stories which remained under partial US copyright to the estate until 2023. |
| 735 | * Sun Wukong/Son Goku/The Monkey King from ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest''. |
| 736 | * [[Literature/TheStringOfPearls SweeneyTodd and Mrs. Lovett]] |
| 737 | * Literature/TheThreeMusketeers and D'Artagnan. |
| 738 | * Literature/VarneyTheVampire. |
| 739 | * Creator/WilliamShakespeare's characters. |
| 740 | ** [[Theatre/TheMerchantofVenice Antonio and Shylock]] |
| 741 | ** [[{{Theatre/Hamlet}} Hamlet, Claudius and Ophelia]] |
| 742 | ** [[Theatre/KingLear King Lear]] |
| 743 | ** [[{{Theatre/Macbeth}} Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and Macduff]] |
| 744 | ** [[{{Theatre/Othello}} Othello, Iago and Desdemona]] |
| 745 | ** [[Theatre/TheTamingofTheShrew Petruchio and Katherina]] |
| 746 | ** [[Theatre/TheTempest Prospero, Miranda, Caliban and Ariel]] |
| 747 | ** [[Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet Romeo and Juliet]] |
| 748 | ** [[Theatre/TitusAndronicus Titus Andronicus and Tamora]] |
| 749 | * ''Literature/WinnieThePooh'' entered the US public domain in 2022, though the UK will have to wait until at least 2027 (author Creator/AAMilne died in 1956, while illustrator E.H. Shepard died in 1976). [[Franchise/WinnieThePooh The Disney adaptations]] are still under copyright until at least 2062. |
| 750 | ** The text has been in the Canadian, Japanese, and New Zealand public domains since 2007. |
| 751 | ** All of Pooh's friends are in the public domain in the US except for Disney's {{Canon Foreigner}}s Gopher and Lumpy. |
| 752 | * ''Literature/TheWonderfulWizardOfOz'', as long as only material from the first 22 books of [[Literature/LandOfOz the series]] (published in 1928 or earlier), plus a few later books whose copyrights were not renewed, is used. (Thankfully, this includes all the Baum books.) |
| 753 | ** The famous ruby slippers date from [[Film/TheWizardOfOz the 1939 movie]] and thus have to be licensed from Creator/WarnerBros; the originals in the books are ''silver''. |
| 754 | * DerivativeWorks/{{Zorro}} ''should'' be public domain in the US, since his first story was 1919 and he appeared in a silent film in 1920, but in 2005 Sony sent a cease-and-desist to a company, Sobini, which wanted to make a Zorro movie. Sobini sued Sony in 2005 to try to get a decision that Sobini could use the character, but the outcome of this suit, if any, remains unreported. What news can be found is confusing and contradictory (such as news articles claiming that Sobini "acquired the rights" to the public domain 1919 story). |
| 755 | ** [[http://www.zorro.com/about.html Zorro Productions, Inc.]] claims that it "controls the worldwide trademarks and copyrights in the name, visual likeness and the character of Zorro." |
| 756 | ** In ''Sony Pictures Entertainment v. Fireworks Entertainment Group'' (2001) the court ruled that because "the copyrights in "The Curse of Capistrano" and "The Mark of Zorro" lapsed in 1995 or before, the character Zorro has been in the public domain." |
| 757 | ** Zorro is indisputably public domain in Canada, Japan, and NZ. However, the character is still under copyright in almost all of the EU, the UK, and Australia until 2029, Spain until 2039, and in Mexico until 2059 (author Johnston [=McCulley=] died in 1958). |
| 758 | * Creator/LMMontgomery's works, which were published in the 1900-1930s. Unfortunately, ''Anne of Green Gables'' and ''Emily Of New Moon'' are the only stories that people seem to be interested in adapting. |
| 759 | ** ''Literature/AnneOfGreenGables'' (this one also inspired [[Manga/CandyCandy many]] [[Theater/{{Annie}} expies]]) |
| 760 | ** ''Literature/TheBlueCastle'' |
| 761 | ** ''Literature/EmilyOfNewMoon'' (this one has a LiveActionAdaptation and an [[Anime/KazeNoShojoEmily anime]]. |
| 762 | ** ''Literature/JaneOfLanternHill'' |
| 763 | ** ''Literature/KilmenyOfTheOrchard'' |
| 764 | ** ''Literature/ATangledWeb1931'' |
| 765 | ** ''Literature/TheStoryGirl'' |
| 766 | [[/folder]] |
| 767 | |
| 768 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 769 | * Just as with films (see above), there are many American-produced TV series that have fallen into the public domain. Or, as the case may be, only selected episodes have. Examples include the '50s ''Franchise/{{Dragnet}}'' series, ''{{Series/Bonanza}}'', many early episodes of ''Series/TheBeverlyHillbillies'', ''Series/PetticoatJunction'' (most of its first season, in fact), and about a dozen episodes of the ''Dick Van Dyke Show''. In some cases, DVD and VHS releases of these episodes have to be re-edited to remove elements that are still in copyright, such as theme music. |
| 770 | * Most of the episodes of ''Series/OneStepBeyond1959'', a supernatural anthology predecessor to such shows as ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' and ''Series/TheOuterLimits1963''. The show purports to be based on real-life events, and itself often uses {{Historical Domain Character}}s. |
| 771 | * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Z-Ro Captain Z-Ro]], a reclusive scientist that would use his ZX-99 machine to observe various points in time, and, when necessary, send his assistant Jet back in time to make sure that history unfolded according to how it was originally recorded. |
| 772 | [[/folder]] |
| 773 | |
| 774 | [[folder:Roleplay]] |
| 775 | * ''Roleplay/DarwinsSoldiers'' author [=LettuceBacon=]&Tomato explicitly released every one of his characters except Dr. Shelton into the public domain. This presumably includes Shelton's [[http://darwinssoldiers.fandom.com/wiki/Oscar_Shelton anti-matter duplicate]] who possesses all of the original's memories, meaning it'd be quite easy to bypass the actual Shelton's copyright. |
| 776 | [[/folder]] |
| 777 | |
| 778 | [[folder:Visual Novel]] |
| 779 | * All of the characters from ''VisualNovel/{{Morenatsu}}'' were designed anonymously by different artists during early development on 2Chan, leading them to be part of the public domain. |
| 780 | [[/folder]] |
| 781 | |
| 782 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 783 | * ''Webcomic/{{Lightbringer}}'': All of the characters and stories in the series were released into the public domain by its creator, [[WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall Linkara]] on September 20, 2013. |
| 784 | * MediaNotes/JennyEverywhere, the comic-book character, was explicitly ''created'' to serve this purpose. She's not so much public domain but as ''open source'' as modern copyright law permits of modern creations. |
| 785 | * ''[[Webcomic/JackDavidHopkins Jack]]'' author David Hopkins released all of the characters he created into the public domain as of January 16, 2021. This, however, does not apply to characters owned by others who have appeared in the comic, such as Skye Bluedeer and Reckonin. |
| 786 | [[/folder]] |
| 787 | |
| 788 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 789 | * Website/TheFreeUniverse collects many public domain heroes and characters and sets up templates for modern writers to use them. |
| 790 | * The fears of ''Franchise/TheFearMythos'' (including Literature/TheRake), except [[Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos the Slender Man]]. See [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slender_Man#Copyright here]] for more details. |
| 791 | * The entire point of Blog/FanPro. All of the characters are public domain, and there's no canon besides what the fans create. |
| 792 | * Despite the fact that Peter Anspach copyrighted his version of the EvilOverlordList, the truth is, anyone is free to use it in any way they want for one simple reason: Jack Butler, the owner of the ''other'' version of the EvilOverlordList (which is functionally identical to Anspach's) intentionally released the copyright on his list, making it public domain. Were Anspach actually to press a copyright claim on anyone (unlikely), all that need happen is point out that you're quoting Butler's list, not Anspach's, and suddenly Anspach's claim evaporates into the ether. |
| 793 | * WebOriginal/{{Inglip}} will ''smite'' anyone trying to copyright him. |
| 794 | * All the books featured in the pioneering e-book endeavor The Gutenberg Project are, in theory, supposed to be in the public domain (with the exception of a few for which the creators have specifically given permission). Many of the examples listed above are in fact available through Gutenberg. |
| 795 | [[/folder]] |
| 796 | |
| 797 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 798 | * All of the cartoons created by Creator/VanBeurenStudios are public domain, as are all the characters they created (with the exception of pre-existing characters they had licensed, such as Otto Soglow's ''Little King'') are public domain, as the studio abruptly went belly-up in 1936, and nobody bothered to claim ownership of their library or characters. Their ''Tom & Jerry'' characters do run into a hiccup, as a [[WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry more famous cartoon duo bearing the same name]] had surfaced a few years after the studio's demise, forcing home movie reissues of their cartoons to [[RenamedToAvoidAssociation rename the characters Dick & Larry.]] Even Thunderbeans' complete DVD rerelease of the cartoons had to distinguish them as "Van Beuren's Tom & Jerry" to prevent people from confusing them with the cat and mouse duo. |
| 799 | * WesternAnimation/PrivateSnafu, being made for the U.S. government, was already automatically public domain. |
| 800 | * ''WesternAnimation/FelixTheCat'' is in the public domain, but you can only use elements from his iterations of MediaNotes/TheSilentAgeOfAnimation and Creator/VanBeurenStudios shorts. Elements introduced in later years, such as his Magic Bag of Tricks or the vast majority of his supporting cast will still be copyrighted until those copyrights expire 96 years after publication. You can't also refer to him as "Felix the Cat" as his name is trademarked by Creator/DreamWorksAnimation[=/=]Creator/{{Universal}} Studios. |
| 801 | * WesternAnimation/BabyHuey[[note]]Trademarked by Creator/DreamWorksAnimation[=/=]Creator/{{Universal}} Studios[[/note]] |
| 802 | * Buzzy the Crow, although in his first public domain appearance he didn't have the name yet.[[note]]Trademarked by Creator/DreamWorksAnimation[=/=]Creator/{{Universal}} Studios.[[/note]] |
| 803 | * ''WesternAnimation/ClutchCargo'' |
| 804 | ** ''Space Angel'', from the same company as ''Clutch Cargo'', about three astronauts adventuring in space working for the Earth Bureau of Investigation's Interplanetary Space Force. |
| 805 | * Calvin T. Burnside, Colonel Montgomery J. Klaxon, Maggie Belle, and the rest from ''WesternAnimation/CalvinAndTheColonel''. |
| 806 | * WesternAnimation/ColonelBleep. |
| 807 | * WesternAnimation/DinkyDoodle |
| 808 | * WesternAnimation/FlipTheFrog. |
| 809 | * WesternAnimation/GertieTheDinosaur. |
| 810 | * WesternAnimation/HeckleAndJeckle first appeared in the public domain cartoon "The Talking Magpies", although they were pretty different from their more recognizable selves.[[note]]Trademarked by Creator/{{CBS}}.[[/note]] |
| 811 | * ''WesternAnimation/LittleAudrey''[[note]]Trademarked by Creator/DreamworksAnimation[=/=]Creator/{{Universal}} Studios.[[/note]] |
| 812 | * Some ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' characters: |
| 813 | ** Babbit and Catstello, animated versions of Creator/AbbottAndCostello. This also includes a prototype of [[WesternAnimation/SylvesterTheCatAndTweetyBird Tweety Bird]] called "Orson", along with his catchphrase "[[CharacterCatchphrase I tawt I taw a puddy tat!]]". |
| 814 | ** Goopy Geer, a piano-playing dog. |
| 815 | ** Early versions of the Goofy Gophers. |
| 816 | ** The animal versions of World War II figures from ''WesternAnimation/TheDucktators''. |
| 817 | ** WesternAnimation/TheDoverBoys |
| 818 | ** The Gremlin from ''WesternAnimation/FallingHare''. |
| 819 | ** Foxy and Roxy, CaptainErsatz versions of Mickey and Minnie Mouse. |
| 820 | * Creator/{{Disney}}: |
| 821 | ** Susie the Little Blue Coupe. |
| 822 | ** The titular Doctor XXX from ''WesternAnimation/TheMadDoctor''. |
| 823 | ** Alice and the FunnyAnimals from the ''WesternAnimation/AliceComedies'', including an early version of WesternAnimation/{{Pete}}. |
| 824 | *** The 1928 version of Pete, seen in both ''WesternAnimation/SteamboatWillie'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheGallopinGaucho'' cannot be called "Pete", due to them being considered the same character by {{Creator/Disney}} only being a thing introduced in the 1930s. You can use the steamboat captain cat character, but he must have a different name then "Pete" or wait until 2026 to call him Pete. |
| 825 | ** WesternAnimation/OswaldTheLuckyRabbit and his supporting cast entered the United States public domain on January 1st, 2023. As of 2024, all of the Oswald shorts made by Walt Disney are in the public domain |
| 826 | *** However, his modern colorized version from {{Creator/Disney}}, along with the Creator/WalterLantz version will still be copyrighted until those copyrights expire 96 years after publication. |
| 827 | ** WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse and WesternAnimation/MinnieMouse entered the United States public domain on January 1st, 2024, as ''WesternAnimation/SteamboatWillie'' and the silent versions of ''WesternAnimation/PlaneCrazy'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheGallopinGaucho'' [[note]] the copyrights for their audio versions say 1929, so the audio will still be copyrighted until 2025. The story and visuals are the only things in those shorts that are in the Public Domain right now. [[/note]] are now in the public domain. Disney didn't attempt to extend the copyright anymore. Disney still owns the trademark, so while you might be able to use Mickey and Minnie in your own copyrighted work, using them as a trademark that creates customer confusion would get you sued by Disney's lawyers. [[{{WritingAroundTrademarks}} Best to just call them Mickey and Minnie and use "Mouse" separately instead of their full names (aka their trademarked brand names) just to be on the safe side]] (you can still say that "Mouse" is the couple's last names, though). |
| 828 | *** Much like Oswald, Mickey and Minnie's post-1928 designs (save for that in the unofficial short ''WesternAnimation/MickeyMouseInVietnam'' (1969)[[note]]''WesternAnimation/TheMadDoctor'', the unauthorized comic ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_au_Camp_de_Gurs Mickey Mouse at Gurs Internment Camp]]'' and the WesternAnimation/MiscellaneousDisneyShorts ''[[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_of_the_Frying_Pan_into_the_Firing_Line Out of the Frying Pan into the Firing Line]]'' and ''[[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Together_(1942_film) All Together]]'', while being another works in public domain despite being post-1928, cannot be included as Mickey there has elements on his design that aren't PD yet, along with WesternAnimation/{{Pluto|ThePup}} and... practically ''a lot'' of characters from the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon in the latter short, meaning that only Dr. XXX is safe, as mentioned above[[/note]], obviously due to being unauthorized[[note]]The music is still under copyright save for the ending of the short, which includes Music/HectorBerlioz's "Requiem, Op. 5: Sanctus"[[/note]]) and voices are still the copyright of {{Creator/Disney}} until those copyrights expire 96 years after publication. |
| 829 | * Characters from the WesternAnimation/SupermanTheatricalCartoons that didn't come from Creator/DCComics, such as ''WesternAnimation/TheMadScientist'' and the Metal Monsters. |
| 830 | * [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck_and_Cover_(film) Bert the Turtle]], similarly to Private Snafu, was never copyrighted at all as it was created under the supervision of the US government. |
| 831 | * Characters from ''WesternAnimation/OutOfTheInkwell'' introduced prior 1929 such as Koko the Clown. |
| 832 | * The ghostly WilyWalrus and other strange spooks from ''WesternAnimation/MinnieTheMoocher''. |
| 833 | [[/folder]] |
| 834 | ---- |
| 835 | !!Media that uses many public domain characters |
| 836 | |
| 837 | [[folder:Anime and Manga]] |
| 838 | * [[Manga/RecordofRagnarok Record of Ragnarok]]: Many of its characters are pulled from both history, mythology and folklore most notably Norse, Greek, Hindu, Shinto, Buddhist, Egyptian and Abrahamic pantheons. |
| 839 | * [[Manga/RosengartenSaga Rosengarten Saga]]: Many of its characters are derived from either mythology or folklore such as [[Literature/VolsungaSaga Siegfried]], [[Literature/ArabianNights Ali Baba]], {{Literature/Beowulf}} and King Arthur. |
| 840 | * ''Manga/SgtFrog'': Grays type aliens, Flatwood monsters and eventually Chupacabras all appear through the series. |
| 841 | [[/folder]] |
| 842 | |
| 843 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 844 | A number of public domain Golden Age superhero characters have been reused by more recent publishers: |
| 845 | * In the 1980s, Eclipse Comics revived ComicBook/{{Airboy}}, a Hillman Comics character. The title's supporting cast and villains were often borrowed from ''Air Fighters Comics''/''Airboy Comics'', a title Airboy originally appeared in. |
| 846 | * Also in the 1980s, ACE Comics briefly revived Columbia Comic superheroes Skyman and the Face. The company also reprinted several Golden Age comics from various publishers. The company went bankrupt before their revival could get beyond the initial mini-series. |
| 847 | * In the early 1990s, Malibu Comics used Centaur Comics characters as the basis for "Protectors Universe," their first superhero line (not the be confused with Ultraverse, the superhero line that replaced it). |
| 848 | * In 1994, Roy Thomas used several public domain characters from several defunct comic companies in the ''Invaders'' mini-series, casting the characters as heroes who underwent a FaceHeelTurn. He originally intended to use obscure Creator/MarvelComics [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] characters, but he was overruled by his editor. One of those characters (Dr Nemesis) went on to play a supporting role in ''Uncanny X-Men.'' |
| 849 | * In the early 2000s, Creator/AlanMoore revived Nedor Comics characters in the ''ComicBook/TomStrong'' series. They were later used in two ''Terra Obscura'' mini-series. |
| 850 | * Dynamite Entertainment has used about any public domain superhero they could get their hands on in the pages of ''ComicBook/ProjectSuperpowers''. This includes nearly all of the characters previously seen in ''Terra Obscura''. |
| 851 | * AC Comics made a habit of using public domain characters both in new series and reprints of original stories. Unlike the previous examples, which focused on a specific company, AC Comics used any character that was available, including minor Fawcett and Quality characters. Oddly, Dynamic Man used in ''The Twelve'' is ''not'' a public domain character -- he is owned by Marvel. However, he served as the basis for Harry "A" Chesler's version of Dynamic Man, which appeared in ''Project Superpowers''. The later version had many similarities to the former, but several minor details (such as their respective civilian identities) were different enough to make them distinct. |
| 852 | * At around the same time as ''Project Superpowers'', Creator/ImageComics started the Next Issue Project. Unlike most of the above-mentioned projects, which updated the characters for modern sensibilities, the Next Issue Project is more of a {{Retraux}} AffectionateParody, with [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]]-style stories, issues the size of Golden Age comics rather than modern comics, and even vintage ads. |
| 853 | * During that same time, Erik Larsen introduced the Golden Age hero Daredevil and his supporting cast, a gang of young boys called The Little Wise Guys, as recurring cast members in ''ComicBook/TheSavageDragon''. His appearance was identical to the Daredevil who appeared in ''Project Superpowers'', but unlike his ''PS'' counterpart, who was mute, Daredevil could talk. The ''PS'' version also was known as "The Death-Defying 'Devil", presumably to avoid confusion with Marvel Comics' ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}''. |
| 854 | * Many of the Nedor characters (and quite a few characters from other publishers) are also being used in ''Heroes Inc'', a webcomic created by Scott Austin. The story takes place in an alternate reality where the allies of WWII lost the war. The Nedor character American Crusader is an aging hero collecting DNA from various heroes in an attempt to revive the Golden Age. Many changes have been made to the characters origin stories and appearance. |
| 855 | * Another odd use of several Nedor characters was in ''Adventures Into Darkness'', by Creator/KennethHite, a TabletopRPG supplement published in multiple versions with game details for different rule systems. The conceit of this work was that in a parallel universe, Creator/HPLovecraft lived a few years longer, landed a writing job with Nedor at one point, and merged several characters and ideas from his own work into the Nedor universe. So it's a CosmicHorror[=/=]Golden Age comics setting book with Lovecraftian and Nedorian elements. Oddly enough, it works. |
| 856 | * The original version of ComicBook/BlueBeetle (created for Fox Features Syndicate) is public domain, but subsequent Creator/CharltonComics (and, later DC Comics') revamps are not -- they all belong to DC Comics. Furthermore, DC Comics owns the Blue Beetle trademark, which is why AC Comics and Dynamite Entertainment changed their versions' name to avoid litigation. |
| 857 | * Centaur's John Aman, AKA ComicBook/AmazingMan, was a member of the supporting cast of Marvel's ''ComicBook/ImmortalIronFist'' as [[spoiler: The Prince of Orphans]], which is fitting since, according to Roy Thomas, Iron Fist's co-creator, Iron Fist was based on the Amazing-Man. |
| 858 | * Gene Luen Yang's and Sonny Liew's ''ComicBook/TheShadowHero'' is a {{Revival}} of the obscure Golden Age character the Green Turtle, who appeared in a few issues of ''Blazing Comics'' and may have been the first Asian-American superhero. |
| 859 | * ''ComicBook/JackStaff'' ran into trouble early on by assuming that the 1950s British comics supervillain the Spider was public domain. He wasn't, but fortunately the rightsholders were amused by the comic and allowed the character to continue to appear as long as he was [[WritingAroundTrademarks no longer explicitly named]] as "the Spider". All the comic's many subsequent revivals of characters from older British comics were [[CaptainErsatz Captains Ersatz]]. |
| 860 | * A non-superhero one, ''ComicBook/LeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'' brings together many Victorian and Edwardian literary characters (although, as it moves through the 20th century in later volumes, it increasingly features [[LawyerFriendlyCameo Lawyer-Friendly Cameos]] of characters who ''are'' in copyright). |
| 861 | * ''Creator/MarvelComics'' uses various characters from the public domain most notably Thor and various figures from Myth/NorseMythology as well as various other Gods and Goddesses from various pantheons such as Hercules. |
| 862 | ** ''[[ComicBook/DeadpoolKillsTheMarvelUniverse Deadpool Killustrated]]'' pulls various figures from the public domain to use as characters most notably Literature/SherlockHolmes, [[Literature/TheBalladOfMulan Hua Mulan]], {{Literature/Beowulf}}, [[Literature/TheLeatherstockingTales Natty Bumpo]], [[Literature/TwentyThousandLeaguesUnderTheSea Captain Nemo]], Literature/MobyDick, and [[{{Literature/Frankenstein}} Frankenstein’s Monster]] to name a few. |
| 863 | * ''Creator/DCComics'' similar to their famous competitor also uses numerous figures from various worldly mythologies most notably pulling from [[Characters/ClassicalMythology Greek Mythology]] for the character of Franchise/WonderWoman such as with her famous foe Ares |
| 864 | ** ''ComicBook/TheSandman1989'' pulls a few characters from the Abrahamic Mythologies most notably [[{{ComicBook/Lucifer}} Lucifer Morningstar]] and his various spin-offs. |
| 865 | ** ''{{ComicBook/Fables}}'' features various characters from Fairy Tales, Folklore and Nursery Rhymes such as TheBigBadWolf, Literature/SnowWhite, [[Literature/SnowWhiteAndRoseRed Rose Red]], [[FairyTale Prince Charming]] and [[NurseryRhyme Boy Blue]] among others. |
| 866 | ** The supervillain [[Characters/JusticeLeagueOtherVillains Solomon Grundy]] notably takes his name from the popular NurseryRhyme. |
| 867 | [[/folder]] |
| 868 | |
| 869 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 870 | * ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'': |
| 871 | ** Dracula is mentioned, and he appears in the sequel, ''Ghosts of the Past'', as part of the BigBadEnsemble, being the ArcVillain of ''Bloody Hell''. |
| 872 | ** Myth/KingArthur, Myth/{{Merlin}}, and the rest of the Knights of the Round Table (heavily influenced, if not outright based on the Series/Merlin2008 version, though with some significant mythic twists). |
| 873 | * ''Fanfic/LifeAfterHayate'' has an InUniverse subversion. The Wolkenritter's exploits from Ancient Belka's times were so infamous that they're still part of the popular culture of the Administrated Worlds, making them go-to villains in innumerable fictional works, many of them still available for purchase or in-production. Chrono realized that once the Wolkenritter became naturalized citizens of the TSAB, the unauthorized use of their likeness was now a crime and entitled them to punitive damages. Which is legalese for "a lot of people owe them some cash". |
| 874 | [[/folder]] |
| 875 | |
| 876 | [[folder: Literature]] |
| 877 | * ''Literature/AmericanGods'' uses various figures from Abrahamic, Akan, Egyptian and Norse Mythologies. |
| 878 | * ''Literature/AnnoDracula'': What if Dracula was real, and Mycroft Holmes was running the response team? And that's just the start... |
| 879 | * ''Literature/TheCrewOfTheCopperColoredCupids'' features H.G. Wells's Martians as a recurring background element, has given guest appearances to Sherlock Holmes and most of the classic MonsterMash, regularly features MediaNotes/JennyEverywhere, and more. |
| 880 | * There are many "Sherlock Holmes versus..." novels that pit him against Dracula, Mr Hyde, Cthulhu, or other public domain monsters. |
| 881 | * ''Literature/ExtraordinaryAdventuresOfTheAthenaClub'' has this in spades, drawing characters from a lot of Victorian literature including Sherlock Holmes, Dracula, Camilla, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Island of Doctor Moreau, Frankenstien and more. |
| 882 | * ''Literature/GoodOmens'' uses various figures from Abrahamic Mythology including God, Satan and the Antichrist as well as the names of various Demons and Angels. |
| 883 | * ''Literature/NyarukoCrawlingWithLove'': Uses Nyarlathotep, the Crawling Chaos, Cthugha, the Burning One, Hastur, the Unspeakable One, and other MoeAnthropomorphism versions of monstrosities from the Franchise/CthulhuMythos as its main characters. |
| 884 | * Prester John and John Mandeville in ''Literature/DirgeForPresterJohn''. |
| 885 | [[/folder]] |
| 886 | |
| 887 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 888 | * ''Series/TheSecretsOfIsis'' has the goddess of Myth/EgyptianMythology as the title character. Considering the series is spin-off of the TV adaptation of ''Series/Shazam1974'', Creator/DCComics was eventually able to adapt her into the Franchise/TheDCU with relatively little modification to be the wife of ComicBook/BlackAdam. |
| 889 | * ''Series/PennyDreadful'' utilizes multiple characters from 19th century Victorian literature for a story between a band of adventurers and misfits fighting Satan and his disciples. |
| 890 | [[/folder]] |
| 891 | |
| 892 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 893 | * ''TabletopGame/AdventuresIntoDarkness'': The conceit of this work is that, in a parallel universe, Creator/HPLovecraft lived a few years longer, landed a writing job with Nedor at one point, and merged several characters and ideas from his own work into the Nedor universe. The result it's a CosmicHorror[=/=]Golden Age comics setting book with Lovecraftian and Nedorian elements. |
| 894 | * ''TabletopGame/InNomine'': While many characters are original creations for the setting, many others are derived from the public domain. Some come from scripture, several demons originate from medieval occultism, and a few come from more recent sources -- the angel Israfel comes from a poem by Edgar Allan Poe, for instance. |
| 895 | [[/folder]] |
| 896 | |
| 897 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 898 | * ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' uses figures from every religion and mythology on the planet as {{Mon}}s. These include figures from UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}}, Myth/JapaneseMythology, Myth/MesopotamianMythology, Myth/HinduMythology, Myth/ClassicalMythology, Myth/ChineseMythology, Myth/KoreanMythology, Myth/CelticMythology, Myth/AztecMythology, Myth/IncaMythology, Myth/ArthurianLegend, Myth/NorseMythology, Myth/SlavicMythology, and so on. |
| 899 | * ''VideoGame/Persona5'' uses a number of characters from {{Picaresque}} fiction as the main characters' [[FightingSpirit Personas]], including Literature/ArseneLupin, DerivativeWorks/{{Zorro}}, Myth/RobinHood, and Theatre/{{Carmen}}. |
| 900 | * ''VideoGame/VermillionWatch'': Several characters in the games fall under this trope, including [[Literature/AroundTheWorldInEightyDays Phileas Fogg]] and [[Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde Henry Jekyll]]. |
| 901 | * ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'': the BigBad is Dracula, and his servants include the Grim Reaper, Frankenstein's Monster, Cthulhu, Carmilla, Medusa, Cerberus, Lilith, Kali, Pazuzu, Scylla, and many other mythological or folkloric figures...as well as a headless skeleton named [[Theatre/{{Hamlet}} Yorrick]]. |
| 902 | * ''VideoGame/BloodstainedRitualOfTheNight'', being ''Castlevania'''s spiritual successor, makes extensive use of the many demons described in the 17th-century text ''Literature/ArsGoetia'' to fill out its enemy roster. |
| 903 | * {{VideoGame/Smite}} uses figures from various mythologies as characters including Greek, Roman, Norse, Egyptian, Hindu, Chinese, Celtic, Arthurian, Japanese, Mayan, Polynesian, Voodoo, Slavic and Yoruba as well as characters from the [[Literature/CthulhuMythos Cthulhu Mythos]]. |
| 904 | * {{VideoGame/Hades}} uses many obscure and well known figures from Greek Mythology as its characters. |
| 905 | * ''VideoGame/LoveOfMagic'' uses Arthur, Merlin and Nimue from Arthurian legend as well as members of the Norse (Odin, Thor, and Freya), Celtic (Cernunnos, Lugh, and Cu Chulain), and Aztec (Quetzalcoatl and Xochiquetzal) pantheons. |
| 906 | [[/folder]] |
| 907 | |
| 908 | [[folder:Visual Novel]] |
| 909 | * ''Franchise/FateSeries'': Starting with ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'', the series revolves around humans summoning "Heroic Spirits" to act as a type of super-powered {{Familiar}} known as "Servants." Sources range from Myth/ArthurianLegend (such as King Arthur and Mordred), to Myth/{{Celtic|Mythology}}/Myth/{{classical|Mythology}}/Myth/{{Aztec|Mythology}}/etc. Mythology (such as Cú Chulainn, and Heracles), to characters from more modern fiction (such as [[Literature/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde Dr. Jekyll]] and the [[Literature/ThePhantomOfTheOpera Phantom of the Opera]]). |
| 910 | [[/folder]] |
| 911 | |
| 912 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 913 | * ''Webcomic/OutOfPrint'' is a {{Webcomic}} focusing [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] {{Super Hero}}es and the humor of being Public Domain Characters |
| 914 | * ''Webcomic/FilthBiscuit'' is composed of Golden Age comics in the public domain that have been rewritten as adult humor, with a great deal of SelfReferentialHumor and GenreDeconstruction. |
| 915 | * Some of the characters in ''Webcomic/TwistwoodTales'' are from real-life fairy tales, fables, or stories, such as Pinocchio, Humpty Dumpty, or the Tortoise and the Hare. |
| 916 | * ''[[{{WebVideo/Vshojo}} Vshojo Mythos]]'' uses many elements from Public Domain sources such as the Literature/CthulhuMythos or [[{{Satan}} Abrahamic Mythology]] |
| 917 | [[/folder]] |
| 918 | |
| 919 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 920 | * ''{{Creator/Disney}}'' is infamous for their usage of public domain stories as the bases for their movies mainly drawing from various Fairy Tales such as {{Literature/Cinderella}}, Literature/TheLittleMermaid, Literature/SleepingBeauty, Literature/SnowWhite to more surprising picks like [[WesternAnimation/ABugsLife Aesop’s Fables]] or [[Franchise/TheLionKing Hamlet]]. |
| 921 | * ''Creator/DreamWorksAnimation'' |
| 922 | ** {{Franchise/Shrek}} pulls a variety of colorful characters from classic fairy tales such as the FairyGodmother, PrinceCharming or {{Literature/Rumpelstiltskin}} among others. |
| 923 | ** WesternAnimation/PussInBoots and its [[WesternAnimation/PussInBootsTheLastWish sequel]] pull a variety of figures from classic fairy tales and nursery rhymes like Humpty Dumpty, {{Literature/Goldilocks}} or Jack Horner. |
| 924 | * In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}}'' episode "Wizard of Ooze", Lydia lands in "The Land of Public Domain", [[OffToSeeTheWizard which is a parody of ''The Wizard of Oz"]]. |
| 925 | * ''WebAnimation/HelluvaBoss'' features various demons from the Literature/ArsGoetia as supporting characters such as Stolas, {{Asmodeus}} and {{Mammon}}. |
| 926 | ** ''WesternAnimation/HazbinHotel'' similarly features the side character of [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]] based on the figure from Abrahamic Mythology of the same name. |
| 927 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheMonkeyKing'' serves as an adaptation of the beginning chapters of the Chinese classic Literature/JourneyToTheWest featuring the titular Monkey King as well as featuring numerous figures from Chinese Mythology such as the Jade Emperor, the Dragon King and Yama. |
| 928 | [[/folder]] |
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