Public Domain Day 2026
| Main page | Participate | Article list | Event on 9 January |
Public Domain Day commemorates the moment when copyright expires on the first day of each year. Films, photographs, books and symphonies whose copyright has expired become common property. The end of copyright on these works means that they pass into the public domain. Educators, students, artists and amateurs can use them without authorisation or payment. Online archives can be digitised and made available in their entirety without the threat of legal action or licensing requirements.
In 2026, Wikimedia Portugal and Wikimedia Spain are joining forces once again to celebrate the occasion, not only with the publication of the annual list of authors whose works are entering the public domain, but also with an online event throughout the month of January. In addition, this year we will be holding a hybrid event on 9 January to celebrate Public Domain Day at the National Library of Portugal.
- How to participate
- To participate, you must have a Wikimedia user account. If you don't have one, you can create one here.
- Then sign up on the activity dashboard, by accessing through this link; inside the tool, under "available articles", select which article you want to create or translate. You can see an overview of the entire suggested list in this tab.
