Betty Boop, the flapper character from cartoons, newspaper strips and other types of animation, will join Winnie the Pooh and the sailor Popeye in 2026: with her first appearance falling into the public domain in the USA, the character will star in a slasher-type horror film – and as a murderer.
Following American legislation, the girl with the little dress and short hair, hoop earrings and who was one of the icons of the jazz era, will have her first images free from payment of any copyright from January 1st to anyone who wants to copy, share or develop their own content.
But it’s not just Betty Boop that will fall into the public domain in 2026: thousands of copyrighted works from 1930 will be in the same condition, as will many sound recordings from 1925.
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Pluto e Agatha Christie
From the world of cartoons, the list includes the first version of Pluto (still called Rover) and another striking figure from the 30s: the girl Blondie and her boyfriend Dagwood. Another nine Mickey Mouse cartoons and ten Disney “Silly Symphonies” cartoons also fall into the public domain.
Among the literary works are “While I Agonize”, by William Faulkner, “Murder in the Shepherd’s House”, by Agatha Christie, and the first four novels by girl investigator Nancy Drew. “The Maltese Falcon”, by Dashiell Hammett, is also on the list.
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Cinema and music
Among the films, the highlights are “All Quiet on the Front”, directed by Lewis Milestone and which won the Oscar for Best Film), “The “Blue Angel”, starring Marlene Dietrich, “Hell’s Angels”, by Howard Hughes, which was Jean Harlow’s first appearance on screen.
Among the songs are four works by brothers Ira and George Gershwin: “I Got Rhythm”, “I’ve Got a Crush on You”, “But Not for Me”, and “Embraceable You”. There is also the original version of “Georgia on My Mind”, by Stuart Gorrell and Hoagy Carmichael, and “Dream a Little Dream of Me”, by Gus Kahn, Fabian Andre and Wilbur Schwandt.
