Public Domain Day 2025: Rediscovering Masterpieces in a New Light

Every year on 1 January, the Wikimedia communities celebrate Public Domain Day – the day on which artistic works become free to use once their copyright protection ends. Starting today, many new works can be freely shared and even adapted in new ways by everyone, which is why Public Domain Day is a celebration for all friends of free knowledge and culture. However, calculating copyright terms can be tricky, so Wikimedians need to carefully determine which works they can now add to Wikipedia and its sister projects. In 2025, two world-famous painters stand out from the list: The Mexican surrealist Frida Kahlo and the French fauvist Henri Matisse.

Henri Matisse’s dancing lines

The French painter Henri Matisse is regarded as the most important representative of the so-called fauvist movement. His oeuvre is known for strong colours and the perpetual search for the perfect line, famously inspiring expressionist art. As Matisse died in 1954, the copyright in his works ended yesterday in most jurisdictions. This means that it can now not only be used to illustrate Wikipedia articles, but also form the basis for new creations – how about a short animated film, for example? Both the early work shown below and the equally famous blue silhouettes from a later period are now waiting to inspire.

Mexico’s copyright protection is the longest in the world

Curiously, copyright limitations are not harmonised across the globe. Mexico, for example, does not adhere to the standard 70-year ‘post mortem’ term applied by most countries, but instead grants copyright protection for a whopping 100 years after an author’s death. Today, this peculiarity of Mexican copyright law becomes especially apparent, because one of the most famous names in Mexican art history, Frida Kahlo, also died in 1954. Known chiefly for her characteristic self-portraits full of symbolism, Kahlo’s work was initially considered as naïve. Today, it is recognised just as important as Matisse’s, categorised between the realms of surrealism and magical realism. While most jurisdictions now consider Kahlo’s work to be in the public domain, it cannot be used freely on Wikipedia and its sister projects until the protection under Mexican law ends in 2054.

Classic works from 1929 enter the public domain in the United States

A few years ago, the United States decided to transition to the 70-year standard, but until this change comes into effect, copyright protection is still calculated in a different and equally unique way: This year, works published in 1929 enter the public domain under US copyright law. This includes Ernest Hemingway’s novel A Farewell to Arms, George Gershwin’s symphonic poem An American in Paris, the jazz standard Ain’t Misbehavin’ first recorded by Fats Waller, and the first sound film to receive an Oscar, The Broadway Melody.

Over the next few days, Wikimedia volunteers around the globe will be busy adding the content that has now become free. On this Public Domain Day, you are also invited to rediscover these and other great creations from the past, and to feel inspired to share and reuse them in a new light.

Lukas Mezger is a volunteer Wikipedia editor from Germany. He works as a media and IT lawyer and holds a Ph.D. in copyright law from the University of Kiel.