Hidden gems

Every patent filed 20 years ago (2006) has now expired, and many younger US patents lapse early because owners stop paying maintenance fees at 3.5, 7.5 and 11.5 years. Their full technical drawings and instructions are free to use.

US works published before 1964 needed a copyright renewal after 28 years. Most were never renewed, so a large share of mid-century US books, magazines and pulp stories are already public domain.

Works made by US federal employees for their jobs are public domain from the start: NASA photos, USGS maps, NOAA data, military manuals, federal reports.

Hundreds of thousands of high-resolution images of public domain art released with no restrictions.

In the US, the shapes of letters are not protected by copyright; only font software and names are.

The first released Mickey Mouse sound cartoon and the 1928 Mickey and Minnie designs became free in the US in 2024.

The last Holmes stories became free in the US in 2023, ending the estate's licensing claims there. In Europe, everything has been free since 2001.

The 1926 book became free in the US in 2022 and The House at Pooh Corner (Tigger) in 2024. The horror film Blood and Honey showed the demand.

Free in the US since 2021 and in Europe since 2011, it has since become one of the most adapted books (musicals, novels, games).

Free in most of Europe since 2015.

Popeye's first Thimble Theatre strips and Tintin in the Land of the Soviets became free in the US in 2025.

Barrie died in 1937, so Peter Pan is free in most of the world.

The evergreen public domain classics, free nearly everywhere.