Well, Kay DiBianca and I independently had the same idea this week: Public Domain Day 2026.
When I went to schedule my post, I noticed Kay had already scheduled hers. So we put our great minds together and decided that1930 was such an exceptional year for books, films, and music, there was enough to cover without duplicating each other.
Music and lyrics have their own copyright dates as sheet music but recordings of those songs by particular musicians may fall under different later dates. For 2026, these specific performances entered the public domain:
In an interesting side note, the soundtracks for a number of cartoons were built on musical compositions that had earlier gone into public domain. For boomers, our first introduction of these tunes often came from cartoons, singing along to: “A Hunting We Will Go”, “The Farmer in the Dell”, and “Pop Goes the Weasel”. I have clear memories of several cartoon heroes playing a flute to coax a cobra from a basket with the “Snake Charmer Song”.
How many of us boomers were called to the TV by the siren song of the “William Tell Overture,” the theme forThe Lone Ranger?
1927 was a watershed year in motion picture history.
Wingswon the first Academy Award for Best Picture.
“Wait a minute…wait a minute…you ain’t heard nothin’ yet.”
Those were the first words ever spoken in a motion picture. Although The Jazz Singer is now considered insensitive, nevertheless, it stands as an historic moment in 1927 when the first “talkie” rang the death knell for the silent film era.
You can listen to a clip of Al Jolson’s first wordshere.
January 1, 2023 was Happy Public Domain Day when copyrights ended for movies, literary works, and music published in 1927.
Here’s a partial list of works that are now in the public domain, provided by Duke University.
Black and Tan Fantasy and East St. Louis Toodle-O (Bub Miley, Duke Ellington)
Billy Goat Stomp, Hyena Stomp, Jungle Blues (Ferdinand Joseph Morton)
My Blue Heaven (George Whiting, Walter Donaldson)
Diane (Erno Rapee, Lew Pollack)
Mississippi Mud (Harry Barris, James Cavanaugh)
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Of particular interest to mystery authors, the last two works by Arthur Conan Doyle featuring Sherlock Holmes are now in the public domain. What does this mean to writers?
If you’ve always hankered to feature the iconic Sherlock as a character in new adventures, you are free to do so without violating copyright or worrying about legal repercussions (more on that in a moment).
Here are a few genre possibilities:
Sherlock uses his powers of deduction to solve contemporarymysteries in the 21st century;
Or he time-travels through history in pursuit of villains;
Or fantasy stories might bestow magical superpowers like flying, turning invisible, telekinetically moving objects, and casting spells;
Or sci-fi, where he travels to distant universes—a rocket ship or space station makes a great setting for a locked room mystery;
Or for romantic suspense, he can fall in love.
Although a number of contemporary works have featured Holmes and Watson, there is a copyright backstory that’s nearly as complicated as Conan Doyle’s mysteries.
Even though Sherlock and Watson had already entered the public domain, legal battles over Sherlock’s copyright persisted for years. The Conan Doyle estate claimed various justifications to charge licensing fees to authors and film makers who wanted to use the characters.
Most creators paid the fees rather than endure the time and expense of taking the estate to court. But attorney Leslie Klinger fought back and won.
In one suit, Judge Richard Posner criticized the estate’s “unlawful business strategy” and stated:
The Doyle estate’s business strategy is plain: charge a modest license fee for which there is no legal basis, in the hope that the ‘rational’ writer or publisher asked for the fee will pay it rather than incur a greater cost, in legal expenses, in challenging the legality of the demand.
The expiration of the copyright on the last two works featuring Sherlock has now ended any possible claims by the estate.
Sherlock is finally, unquestionably free for any creator to use.
That means, as to Sherlock’s future adventures…you ain’t heard nothin’ yet.
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Just for fun, here’s The Battle of the Century, featuring Laurel and Hardy and the greatest custard pie fight of all time:
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TKZers: Do any stories, movies, or songs from 1927 make your creative juices flow?
Do you have ideas for repurposing works that are now in the public domain?
Wings
Franklin W. Dixon, 
Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger” and “The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place,” the last two stories from 
The Battle of the Century (starring the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy; directed by Clyde Bruckman)