PD OR NOT PD?

Here’s a list of things that are, and are not, in the Public Domain which we thought you would enjoy:

I’m a Little Teapot — not an old nursery rhyme. It was written and copyrighted in 1939.

American Gothic by Grant Wood. Very much in copyright and well-protected. You see some really silly things done with this painting. The copyright holders have a sense of humor. So it’s ubiquitous, it ends up on doormats and a lot of other places, but it’s not in the Public Domain.

Happy Birthday The words are in copyright, the music is not. It used to be that the copyright holder said both words and music were protected by the copyright, but that’s no longer so. The copyright status of this song is why, in so many shows, the actors sing For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow at birthday celebrations.

The world-famous theme from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey is in the Public Domain. It is a tone poem known as Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Richard Strauss. It was written in the time period from 1885-1896. Please note that only the music is in the Public Domain. Sound recordings of this work are not in the Public Domain and therefore have to be licensed.

Many of Robert Frost’s, Carl Sandburg’s and T.S. Eliot’s most important poems are no longer covered by copyright in the United States.

Baum’s beloved book, The Wizard of Oz, is PD. The film and anything in it that is an original creation of the filmmakers are protected by copyright. For instance, the ruby slippers are not in the original book, so they are protected by copyright. All of the music in the film is in copyright. If you are thinking of using The Wizard of Oz, talk to us first.

Some Saturday Evening Post covers are PD, including some of the most famous works of art Norman Rockwell ever created.

sheet music for a pretty girl is like a melody A Pretty Girl is Like A Melody (PD music)