Join Creative Commons, Internet Archive, and many other leaders from the open world to celebrate Public Domain Day 2023. As of January 2023, a treasure trove of new cultural works has become as free as the moon and the stars — at least in the USA and many other countries. And what better way to get us feeling inspired than recalling those timeless lyrics of the 1927 hit musical composition: “The Best Things In Life Are Free“. We agree! That’s why we made it our theme. 

This year ushered in a wealth of creative works published in 1927 into the Public Domain, which now contribute to our cultural heritage. Iconic authors like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Marcel Proust, and Virginia Woolf, silent film classics like the controversial The Jazz Singer with Al Jolson and Fritz Lang’s dystopian Metropolis, and snappy musical compositions like “You Scream, I Scream, We All Scream For Ice Cream”.

You can welcome new public domain works and celebrate with us in three ways:

1. Join us for a virtual party on 19 January 2023 at 1pm PST / 4pm EST / 9pm UTC, where we will celebrate our theme, The Best Things In Life Are Free, with a host of entertainers, historians, librarians, academics, activists and other leaders from the open world, including additional sponsoring organizations Library Futures, SPARC, Authors Alliance, Public Knowledge, and the Duke Center for the Study of the Public Domain. REGISTER FOR THE VIRTUAL EVENT! 
2. The Internet Archive will also host an in-person Film Remix Contest Screening Party on 20 January 2023 at 6pm at 300 Funston Ave in San Francisco. We will celebrate 1927 as the founding year of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, while watching this year’s Public Domain Day Remix Contest winning entries, eating popcorn and ice cream. Come dressed in your best golden age of Hollywood inspired costume, and walk the red carpet with the Internet Archive as we celebrate the entry of “talkies” into the public domain. REGISTER FOR THE IN-PERSON PARTY IN SAN FRANCISCO! 
3. Celebrate Public Domain Day 2023 with the Internet Archive through creative expression! Artists of all levels are invited to submit short films 2-3 minutes in length crafted from  resources from the Internet Archive’s collections from 1927. The uploaded videos will be judged and prizes of up to $1500 awarded. All submissions must be in by Midnight, 16 January 2023 (PST). SUBMIT AN ENTRY OR FIND OUT MORE!