Old Mickey, Tintin, Popeye up for grabs

From A Farewell to Arms to the cartoon character Popeye the Sailor, thousands of artistic works are set to enter the public domain in the United States.

US copyright law expires after 95 years for books, films and other works of art, while sound recordings from 1924 will also be copyright-free.

By entering the public domain, the pieces can be copied, shared, reproduced or adapted by anyone without paying the rights owner.

Every December, the Center for the Study of the Public Domain publishes a list of the cultural works that lose their copyright. The center, part of the Duke University School of Law, makes the list available for anyone to peruse.

"In past years we have celebrated an exciting cast of public domain characters: the original Mickey Mouse and Winnie-the-Pooh, and the final iterations of Sherlock Holmes," center director Jennifer Jenkins said.

"In 2025 copyright expires over more aspects of Mickey from his 1929 incarnations, along with the initial versions of Popeye and Tintin."