the U. S. copyright in any work published or copyrighted prior to
January 1, 1923, has expired by operation of law, and the work has
permanently fallen into the public domain in the United States..."
Knowing this opens up a large list of works -- and the characters from
those works -- that are free from copyright, and therefore available
for your use without restriction. Works dated 1923 or later can also
fall into the public domain under particular circumstances, but most
of the "fairy tale" type characters have long, histories, and are
thoroughly in the public domain.
I've compiled a lengthy list of such characters for your consideration.
Since you also asked about the popularity of any given character, I've
included information on the number of times the character's name
appears in a Google search -- this is the best "polling" indicator I
can think of for quickly assessing the level of familiarity the public
has with a particular character.
CHARACTERS FROM WORKS THAT ARE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN
AND WHO ARE PRETTY MUCH HOUSEHOLD NAMES
(that is, known by a great many people)
Peter Pan (2,350,00 Google search 'hits')
Aladdin (2,200,000)
Dracula (2,160,000)
Cinderella (1,830,000)
Snow White (1,520,000)
Frankenstein (1,440,000)
Robin Hood (1,300,000)
Tarzan (1,270,000)
Wizard of Oz -- (1,110,000)
Sleeping Beuaty (1,100,000)
King Arthur (1,030,000)
Sherlock Holmes (753,000)
Gulliver (751,000)
Pinocchio (748,000)
Alice (707,000 -- searched on [Alice Wonderland])
Moby Dick (617,000)
Ivanhoe (525,000)
Phantom of the Opera (419,000)
Lancelot (414,000)
Black Beauty (379,000)
Oliver Twist (337,000)
Dorothy (319,00 -- searched on [ Dorothy Oz ])
Rapunzel (307,000)
Mother Goose (303,000)
Scrooge (287,000)
Tom Sawyer (266,000)
Ali Baba (237,000)
Peter Rabbit (235,000)
Don Quixote (227,000)
Little Red Riding Hood (219,000)
Tinkerbell (207,000)
Little John (204,000)
Jekyll and Mr Hyde (201,000)
Pied Piper (192,000)
Robinson Crusoe (187,000)
Seven Dwarfs (186,000)*
Uncle Tom (181,000)
Tin Man (169,00 -- searched on [ tin man oz ])
Huckleberry Finn (168,000)
Dorian Gray (168,000)
Jane Eyre (155,000)
Humpty Dumpty (134,000)
Pollyanna (129,000)
Chesire Cat (126,000)
Tom Thumb (113,000)
Hansel and Gretel (108,000)
Mad Hatter (106,000)
Hunchback of Notre Dame (106,000)
The Three Musketeers (105,000)
Tiny Tim (102,000)
William Tell (99,200)
Jack and Jill (85,500)
Puss in Boots (78,500)
Long John Silver (72,200)
Captain Hook (70,200)
Munchkins (70,000)
Three Blind Mice (67,700)
Little Bo-Peep (66,700)
Jack and the Beanstalk (63,200)
David Copperfield (60,900 -- searched on [ David Copperfield Dickens ])
Knights of the Round Table (59,800)
Rip Van Winkle (56,300)
Captain Nemo (55,000)
Little Boy Blue (39,500)
Wicked Witch (38,200 -- searched on wicked witch oz ]
Old Mother Hubbard (35,500)
Captain Ahab (33,300)
Cowardly Lion (33,100)
Little Miss Muffet (32,000)
Tweedle Dee/Tweedle Dum (28,600)
Friar Tuck (25,000)
Peter Piper (25,000)
Brer Rabbit (24,800)
The Tortoise and the Hare (21,700)
Ghost of Christmas Past/Present/Future (20,500)
Guenevere (18,100)
Sheriff of Nottingham (16,600)
Old King Cole (14,600)
Hans Brinker (13,500)
Little Jack Horner (10,000)
For the most part, I've focused the above list on characters from
fairy tales and popular fiction. Of course, there are many well known
characters from other sources, such as history (Achilles is big these
days, and there are plenty of standbys such as Davey Crockett, Daniel
Boone, Abraham Lincoln) and the Bible (Adam and Eve, Noah, King
Solomon) that offer additional possibilities for you to consider.
If there are particular titles or characters that are of interest to
you, let me know and I'll be most happy to do some additional research
for you as to their status regarding public domain.
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=357341
Here are some characters in the public domain that are open to a different interpretation.
*The Seven Dwarves are PD BUT Disneys treatment of them isn't..in the original story they weren't named but enumrated: "The third one said this.." The second did that" Disney gave them names (Doc, Sleepy, Stupid, Asshole etc)that corresponded with personalities created for them. So you can do the 7 dwarves but it better not come anywhere NEAR the way Disney did or they WILL sue the shit out of you.
January 1, 1923, has expired by operation of law, and the work has
permanently fallen into the public domain in the United States..."
Knowing this opens up a large list of works -- and the characters from
those works -- that are free from copyright, and therefore available
for your use without restriction. Works dated 1923 or later can also
fall into the public domain under particular circumstances, but most
of the "fairy tale" type characters have long, histories, and are
thoroughly in the public domain.
I've compiled a lengthy list of such characters for your consideration.
Since you also asked about the popularity of any given character, I've
included information on the number of times the character's name
appears in a Google search -- this is the best "polling" indicator I
can think of for quickly assessing the level of familiarity the public
has with a particular character.
CHARACTERS FROM WORKS THAT ARE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN
AND WHO ARE PRETTY MUCH HOUSEHOLD NAMES
(that is, known by a great many people)
Peter Pan (2,350,00 Google search 'hits')
Aladdin (2,200,000)
Dracula (2,160,000)
Cinderella (1,830,000)
Snow White (1,520,000)
Frankenstein (1,440,000)
Robin Hood (1,300,000)
Tarzan (1,270,000)
Wizard of Oz -- (1,110,000)
Sleeping Beuaty (1,100,000)
King Arthur (1,030,000)
Sherlock Holmes (753,000)
Gulliver (751,000)
Pinocchio (748,000)
Alice (707,000 -- searched on [Alice Wonderland])
Moby Dick (617,000)
Ivanhoe (525,000)
Phantom of the Opera (419,000)
Lancelot (414,000)
Black Beauty (379,000)
Oliver Twist (337,000)
Dorothy (319,00 -- searched on [ Dorothy Oz ])
Rapunzel (307,000)
Mother Goose (303,000)
Scrooge (287,000)
Tom Sawyer (266,000)
Ali Baba (237,000)
Peter Rabbit (235,000)
Don Quixote (227,000)
Little Red Riding Hood (219,000)
Tinkerbell (207,000)
Little John (204,000)
Jekyll and Mr Hyde (201,000)
Pied Piper (192,000)
Robinson Crusoe (187,000)
Seven Dwarfs (186,000)*
Uncle Tom (181,000)
Tin Man (169,00 -- searched on [ tin man oz ])
Huckleberry Finn (168,000)
Dorian Gray (168,000)
Jane Eyre (155,000)
Humpty Dumpty (134,000)
Pollyanna (129,000)
Chesire Cat (126,000)
Tom Thumb (113,000)
Hansel and Gretel (108,000)
Mad Hatter (106,000)
Hunchback of Notre Dame (106,000)
The Three Musketeers (105,000)
Tiny Tim (102,000)
William Tell (99,200)
Jack and Jill (85,500)
Puss in Boots (78,500)
Long John Silver (72,200)
Captain Hook (70,200)
Munchkins (70,000)
Three Blind Mice (67,700)
Little Bo-Peep (66,700)
Jack and the Beanstalk (63,200)
David Copperfield (60,900 -- searched on [ David Copperfield Dickens ])
Knights of the Round Table (59,800)
Rip Van Winkle (56,300)
Captain Nemo (55,000)
Little Boy Blue (39,500)
Wicked Witch (38,200 -- searched on wicked witch oz ]
Old Mother Hubbard (35,500)
Captain Ahab (33,300)
Cowardly Lion (33,100)
Little Miss Muffet (32,000)
Tweedle Dee/Tweedle Dum (28,600)
Friar Tuck (25,000)
Peter Piper (25,000)
Brer Rabbit (24,800)
The Tortoise and the Hare (21,700)
Ghost of Christmas Past/Present/Future (20,500)
Guenevere (18,100)
Sheriff of Nottingham (16,600)
Old King Cole (14,600)
Hans Brinker (13,500)
Little Jack Horner (10,000)
For the most part, I've focused the above list on characters from
fairy tales and popular fiction. Of course, there are many well known
characters from other sources, such as history (Achilles is big these
days, and there are plenty of standbys such as Davey Crockett, Daniel
Boone, Abraham Lincoln) and the Bible (Adam and Eve, Noah, King
Solomon) that offer additional possibilities for you to consider.
If there are particular titles or characters that are of interest to
you, let me know and I'll be most happy to do some additional research
for you as to their status regarding public domain.
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=357341
Here are some characters in the public domain that are open to a different interpretation.
*The Seven Dwarves are PD BUT Disneys treatment of them isn't..in the original story they weren't named but enumrated: "The third one said this.." The second did that" Disney gave them names (Doc, Sleepy, Stupid, Asshole etc)that corresponded with personalities created for them. So you can do the 7 dwarves but it better not come anywhere NEAR the way Disney did or they WILL sue the shit out of you.
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