Some years ago, I was writing a science fiction short story in which I wanted to incorporate verses from a 1928 song, \u201cButton Up Your Overcoat.\u201d However, when I sold the story, my editor told me that since the song was still copyrighted, it was safer not to include the verses.<\/p>\n
If I had written the story today, I could have used them \u2014 because the song passed into public domain two years ago.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re looking for songs, books, or movies with content you want to use, you are probably examining which of your favorites are headed for the public domain. This year, copyrighted works created in 1930 (except for sound recordings, where the date is 1925) are now free to reuse and repurpose in the US.<\/p>\n
As mentioned in our coverage last year, Duke Law School\u2019s Center for the Study of Public Domain has once again rounded up<\/a> all the most iconic works that have been freed from the bounds of copyright.<\/p>\n The year 1930 was a great year for raunchy films not affected by the Hays Code, a set of self-imposed<\/a> guidelines that stated films should not \u201clower the moral standard of those who see it.\u201d Though some studios began adopting the code in 1930, it wasn\u2019t strictly enforced until 1934, prohibiting scenes with profanity, criminal activity, and sexual content, as noted by Duke University. In the 1930 film Morocco, for example, Hollywood star Marlene Dietrich wears a tuxedo<\/a> and kisses another woman \u2014 something that wouldn\u2019t be allowed under the Hays Code.<\/p>\n Betty Boop, that indomitable Fleischer flapper, also made her debut in 1930 in the cartoon Dizzy Dishes, so if you want to use clips for your own project, go to it. But be careful \u2014 Betty Boop first appeared as a dog \u2014 the earrings she later wore started out as dog ears. So it\u2019s that version that is in the public domain, not the latest, more human versions. In the same way, the first appearance of Pluto (or, as he was called then, Rover) in The Picnic is the one that is now available in the public domain.<\/p>\n