by Philippe Cloutier

With another January upon us Public Domain works that may have been, if not for current Copyright Law, are 1955 works. Creativity, art, access, imagination, commercialism, and so much more could have taken advantage of the following [list from Duke University’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain]:

• Rudolf Flesch’s Why Johnny Can’t Read: And What You Can Do About It
• J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Return of the King, the final installment in his Lord of Rings trilogy
• The Family of Man, Edward Steichen’s book of photographs showing the diversity and universality of human experience
• Michihiko Hachiya’s Hiroshima Diary: The Journal of a Japanese Physician, August 8–September 30, 1945, translated by Warner Wells, md
• Evelyn Waugh’s Officers and Gentlemen, the second book in his Sword of Honour trilogy
• The first English translation of Thomas Mann’s last novel, Confessions of Felix Krull, Confidence Man: The Early Years (1954), by Denver Lindley
• C.S. Lewis’ The Magician’s Nephew, the sixth volume his The Chronicles of Narnia
• Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita
• Jerome Lawrence & Robert E. Lee’s play about the Scopes “Monkey Trial,” Inherit the Wind

The possibilities remain speculation, as US Copyright Law stands as a testament to the power of industry. The Copyright Act of 1976, signed by Gerald Ford, was oddly viewed by Barbara Ringer, the U.S. Register of Copyrights, as “a balanced compromise that comes down on the authors’ and creators’ side in almost every instance.” A statement that mystifies considering the profanation of the word balance. To this day The Act offers the worn-out phrase, “life plus seventy”, and the lesser known, “95 years corporate work-for-hire”. Surely there must be works entering the Public Domain, after-all it is a new year. Luckily, Duke Law continues to put out easily digestible lists:

What is entering the public domain in the United States? Nothing. Once again, we will have nothing to celebrate this January 1st. Not a single published work is entering the public domain this year. Or next year, or the year after that. In fact, in the United States, no publication will enter the public domain until 2019.

In light of this and on a personal note, any hopes for the complete collected works of J.D Salinger will more than likely go on unappeased throughout my lifetime. At any rate, Happy New Year.