Top of page

First edition cover of Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne, illustrations by E. H. Shepard; top right corner Pooh bear hangs from a balloon with bees around him; bottom left corner, Christopher Robin and the rabbits pull Pooh out of a hole

The Lifecycle of Copyright: 1926 Works Enter the Public Domain

Share this post:

On January 1, 2022, a new class of creative works entered the public domain in the United States. From a certain honey-loving bear and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood to a classic Gershwin ballad, works published or registered in 1926 now join pre-1925 works already in the public domain.

The public domain is an important part of the lifecycle of copyright. Article 1, section 8 of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power, “To promote the Progre