Nancy Drew

If you grew up spending your Saturday mornings watching classic cartoons with your parents or grandparents, or had a dog-eared copy of a popular mystery novel rolling around in your backpack, January 1st, 2026 is actually kind of a big deal for you. It was Public Domain Day, the annual moment when the 95-year clock on American copyright finally runs out, and new wave of cultural legends become “ours”.

This year is particularly exciting as a powerhouse line up of iconic characters and pieces of literature move into the public domain. For the first time since 1930, you can officially use, remix, and share the original versions of some of the most recognizable names and faces in pop culture history like:

Betty Boop
Before she was a pop-culture icon on t-shirts and bumper stickers, she made her debut in the cartoon Dizzy Dishes. Fun fact for you if you’re a trivia buff: in her first appearance she actually had floppy dog ears! This “Version 1.0” of Betty is now free for anyone to use in new films or art.

Pluto (a.k.a. Rover)
Disney’s most famous hound made his first appearance in 1930 in the short The Picnic. Back then he was called “Rover,” and while he hadn’t quite settled into the name we know, his goofy, loyal personality was already there!

Nancy Drew
If you spent your childhood trying to solve The Secret of the Old Clock, you’ll be happy to know that the first four Nancy Drew mysteries are now in the public domain. This means a new generation of writers can take the teenage detective on brand new adventures!

A Quick Common-Sense Warning
Before you go out and start printing Betty Boop t-shirts, remember: copyright and trademarks are different. While the 1930 version of the character is free to use in a story or a movie, the modern trademarked logo or likeness owned by studios or publishers is still protected.

Public domain day is a celebration of the stories that built our childhoods. Whether it’s Betty Boop, Mickey’s dog Pluto, or a Gershwin jazz standard like “Georgia On My Mind (also now in the public domain!), 2026 is the year these legends finally belong to all of us, and become accessible to a whole new generation of children and the stories they will hold dear like you did.