Iconic works from the 1920’s have entered the US public domain. The first iteration of the character Betty Boop, the book The Maltese Falcon and classic Gershwin tunes are now eligible for use by artists. These works with expired copyrights can be freely used, modified, and sold commercially without permission or royalties. Artists can remix, reframe, or digitize these works for new creations, using these early 20th century staples to inform their own work. 

Join us for a free Lunch and Learn with Jennifer Jenkins, from the Duke Law Center for the Study of the Public Domain, to learn how you can legally use these works in your own artwork and creative projects. Discussion topics will include Copyright Expiration, Best Practices, and what types of copyrights will apply to your own work when using IP in the public domain. 

Jennifer Jenkins is Clinical Professor of Law at Duke Law School. She writes the Center’s annual Public Domain Day website and has been quoted on intellectual property and the public domain in outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, LA Times, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, Variety, Billboard, the Associated Press, Planet Money, CBS News, the BBC, and NPR’s Morning Edition, Weekend Edition, and Marketplace. She is the author of Music Copyright, Creativity, and Culture (Oxford University Press, 2025) and co-author (with James Boyle) of Intellectual Property: Cases and Materials (6th ed, 2024), Theft! A History of Music (CSPD 2017), and Bound By Law? (CSPD 2006). 

This is an online event. 

Registration is free for this event. You will receive a link to the event with your registration.

The event will be recorded and participants will have access to the recording for 30 days after the event.