What Could Have Entered the Public Domain on January 1, 2014?

In the United States, it’s another year of nothing

It’s a new year, time for another list of the things that would be in the public domain if the laws hadn’t been changed during my lifetime.

Let’s be clear here: The 1976 Copyright Act dramatically changed copyright terms, adding between 39 and 67 years or more. It doesn’t take profound philosophical insight to think that was a ridiculous change. Every book or article or essay or song written, every movie shown, every television show broadcast, every single one of them, the ones you remember and the ones you don’t, they were all changed in order to protect a tiny few very popular things, mostly owned by Disney.

So 2014 is another year in which nothing published enters the public domain. The pause button was hit in 1978, and will not resume until 2019 at the earliest.

The pause button was hit in 1978,
and will not resume until 2019 at the earliest.

That book you found that was written in 1923 and quickly forgotten, published and copyright by a publisher long defunct, written anonymously, that 91-year-old book? Nope, you can’t share your delightful find, not for any price. You can’t revise it for a modern audience, or translate, or create an audiobook version, or digitize it for your Kindle, or anything. You can read it, and that’s it. The one from 1922, that’s fine. It’s been in the public domain since 1978, the last year anything entered the public domain. But 1923? No way!

What if the law had not been changed? Then everything from 1923-1956 would have already been in the public domain, and now 1957 works would be added as well. In fact, probably 85% of things from 1958-1985 would also be in the public domain now, although not any of the popular things you just thought of. Probably 93% of books written in 1985, too.

Duke Law’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain does a fantastic job compiling a list every year, as well as summarizing the issues involved. It’s sad work, but well done. They’ve focused primarily on the more well-known works that are locked up, but I find it more tragic that millions of lesser-known works are locked away and forgotten.