INDIA, Dec. 4 -- The final seconds before the clock strikes midnight on 31 December are all about celebration. While people around the world joyously usher in the New Year, Americans have double the reason to cheer - 1 January is also Public Domain Day, marking the moment when several books, movies and other works become freely accessible to all. But what does it even mean when some work enters the public domain? And, for the cinephiles reading this, which movies will be entering the public domain in 2026?

According to US copyright law, works published in 1930, provided they met the necessary legal requirements, will enter the public domain in 2026, as such works are protected for 95 years from the date of publication. In 2024, iconic ch...