Every year, a series of iconic characters, songs and movies pass into "the public domain," meaning their copyrights have expired. The rule is that after 70 years, anyone who wants to can virtually use some or all of that content without having to pay anything.

This year's list contains some famous names.

Among those items that will be free for the taking in 2026: 

-The Marx Bros. movie "Animal Crackers."
-The film "All Quiet On The Western Front"
-Songs like "Georgia On My Mind," and "I Got Rhythm"
--The "Maltese Falcon" (the book, not the movie), and "The Little Engine That Could" and
-Betty Boop and Disney's original version of Goofy.

What will people do with these freebies? You can only imagine. In 2024, the first version of Mickey Mouse became open to the public. Less than a day later, a movie was released featuring that original Mickey as a serial killer.

The mind reels at what might be next. 

The cultural works becoming public domain in 2026, from Betty Boop to Nancy Drew