By law, all films, music, and bookscreated in the United States are protectedundercopyright. But copyrights eventually expire, and when they do, those works enter the public domain which means anyone is free to share those works or to create derivative works based on the original works without the original authors (or, more realistically, the authors estates) permission.So every year New Years Day is also Public Domain Day, when films, books, songs, and other various works of art enter the public domain. This year, that is largelythings that were first released or published in 1929. These works are now freely available to anyone who wants them. Legally, you can copy them, you can share them, or you can make your own versions of them.This years new additions to the public domain include Oscar winners, early works by some of the greatest directors in history, several morecartoons featuring Disneys Mickey Mouse (whose first appearance, Steamboat Willie, finally entered the public domain last year), and two of the most beloved and well-known comic-book and comic-strip characters in the history of the medium.Here are ten of the most notable additions to the public domain in 2025.Famous Works Entering the Public Domain in 2025These movies, books, and characters, are all now part of the public domain as of January 1, 2025.READ MORE:2024s List of Notable Entries to the Public DomainYou can see more of what entered the public domain inthe video below from Duke University although they note that thousands of copyrighted works from 1929 entered the public domain this year. These are just asmall handfulof the mostimportant items on the list.Get our free mobile app20 Comic Book Movies You Forgot ExistedThere have been so many movies based on comics in recent years, you might not even remember all of them (or most of them).Filed Under: Groucho Marx, Mickey Mouse, Popeye, TintinCategories: Movie News