
A huge number of creative works are becoming freely available this year, and there are some real gems among them! Classic characters like Betty Boop, Blondie, and Dagwood are now in the public domain. Even the very first version of Pluto (originally known as Rover) is free to use. Several famous detectives also debuted in 1930, including Nancy Drew, Miss Marple, and Sam Spade. As for music, you can now freely use the song from Spongebob – “Livin’ in the Sunlight, Lovin’ in the Moonlight” – though the original recording by Tiny Tim is still copyrighted, as are classics like “Georgia on my Mind” and “Embraceable You.” On the book front, William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, The Little Engine That Could, and Sigmund Freud’s Civilization and Its Discontents are all now public domain. Plus, the second Marx Bros. movie, Animal Crackers, is free to show! Head over to the Internet Archive and enjoy!