What will enter the public domain in 2026?

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Notable 2026 Public Domain Entrants

  • Commenters highlight early Nancy Drew, How to Win Friends and Influence People, The Maltese Falcon, Swallows and Amazons, WW2-era figures (Hitler, Goebbels, Mussolini, Churchill, Patton), Anne Frank, Einstein, T. S. Eliot, Kafka, Hammett, Wodehouse, and others.
  • Several people are struck by how “new” these works still feel, which underscores how long it takes for them to reach public domain.

Global and Medium-Specific Oddities

  • Term lengths differ sharply: life+70, life+80, death+50, publication+X, etc.
  • Japan and Canada now have long gaps where nothing new enters the public domain due to recent extensions.
  • Argentina and former Soviet states are cited as counterexamples with much earlier expiries.
  • Translations have their own copyrights, so many foreign works remain encumbered even if originals are free.
  • Software gets called out as particularly ill-served: by the time it expires, hardware is gone.

Frustrations with the Article and Better Resources

  • Many dislike the “advent calendar” UX: tiles don’t open with blockers, poor accessibility, and no simple list.
  • People link Wikipedia, Internet Archive, Standard Ebooks, and a spoiler list of all the calendar entries as more useful references.

What Public Domain Enables (and Worries About)

  • Enthusiasm for remixes, fan works, AI-generated derivatives, film contests, and cross-overs (including deliberately tasteless or exploitative mashups).
  • Others note that legal risk, social backlash, or other laws (e.g., trademarks) still constrain usage.

Fair Use, Fan Fiction, and Copyright Basics

  • Debate over whether preparing editions before expiry is allowed, and whether private copying or private fan fiction is infringement.
  • Some argue fair use and lack of market harm would protect private or noncommercial fan works; others stress that unauthorized derivative works are technically infringing even if never distributed.
  • Broader point: copyright law is complex, often counterintuitive, and heavily shaped by power rather than coherent principle.

Debate Over Copyright Length and Reform Proposals

  • Widely shared view that life+70 (or more) is “absurd,” often blamed on lobbying (especially Disney and Mickey Mouse).
  • Minority defends long terms as appropriate “within a lifetime,” or as protecting late-blooming works and heirs.
  • Proposed reforms:
    • Return to ~14+14 years, or 28–42 years total.
    • Renewal systems with escalating fees or taxes tied to commercial value.
    • Compulsory licensing phases before full public domain.
    • Shorter or different rules for corporations vs individuals.
  • Counter-arguments raise worries about harming smaller creators, complex cross-border treaties (TRIPS/Berne), enforcement practicality, and government-managed fee schemes.

Access, Abandonware, and Underused Public Domain

  • Strong concern about works locked away: out-of-print books, films or games withheld by rightsholders, or “abandonware” no one dares host.
  • Some argue the bigger immediate problem isn’t term length but vast existing public-domain material that remains undigitized, unindexed, or obscure.
  • Others respond that excessive term lengths are a key reason works are lost before they can be widely preserved or reused.