Adaptations
Derivative Works
Modifications made to works already in the public domain are considered Derivative Works and are protected by copyright by the one who created the derivative work. The original work will remain in the public domain, but others may not use your modifications. See our section Happy Birthday to You for the story of how the most recognized derivative work in the English language finally entered the public domain in 2016.
According to the Copyright Act, a derivative work is "a work based upon one or more preexisting works, such as a translation, musical arrangement, dramatization, fictionalization, motion picture version, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgment, condensation, or any other form in which a work may be recast, transformed, or adapted."
Below are examples of how the public domain has inspired other works
Books
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900)
Most Americans are, at least, somewhat familiar with the 1939 film The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the song it made famous: Somewhere Over the Rainbow.
This film was, in fact, an adaption of a book that is now in the public domain. The original book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was written in 1900 by an American children's author named L. Frank Baum.
There have been numerous film and book adaptions of this work (we have found at least 23 thus far) with the latest being Oz the Great and Powerful released by Walt Disney Pictures in 2013. Speaking of Disney, in our opinion, no company in the world uses the public domain better than Disney. They have produced over 50 successful films that are either based on, inspired by, or adapted from what was or now is public domain material. From their 1940 release of Pinocchio, which was based on The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, to their 2013 release Frozen, which was inspired from The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen, Disney utilizes every inch of the public domain.
Back to L. Frank Baum who wrote The Wizard of Oz. A quick search on Amazon will display many of his books that either companies or individuals are republishing in print and for Kindle. Here is a sampling of the 23 titles we found on Amazon: Mother Goose in Prose (1897), A New Wonderland (1900), The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus (1902), and Sky Island (1912) .
There are many people using books from the public domain in other ways, too. For example, creating audiobooks and adapting them for myriad of other purposes.
The original index card for The Wonder Wizard of Oz (1900)
Search Suggestions
A few search suggestions for locating older books are WorldCat, AbeBooks, Amazon, and Google's Advanced Book Search . Each allows for date range searches. Simply make sure your search date ends with January 1, 1964.
Musical Compositions
Love Me Tender by Elvis Presley & Vera Matson (1956)
1956 copyright registration entry for Love Me Tender
The melody of Love Me Tender was adapted from Aura Lea, a work published in 1861. The music was written by George R. Poulton and the lyrics by W. W. Fosdick.
The adapted song Love Me Tender, as it can be seen from the image above, was copyrighted on September 11, 1956. Elvis's recording of the song became a number one hit in 1956.
Elvis did not actually contribute to any part of the creation of the song. However, his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, often demanded that songwriters give up to 50 percent of the credit of their song to Elvis if they wanted him to record it.
This happened once to Dolly Parton. Long before Whitney Houston recorded Parton's I Will Always Love You, Elvis was going to record it. Dolly has since stated, "I said, 'I'm sorry, but I can't give you the publishing." She further stated, "I wanted to hear Elvis sing it, and it broke my heart—I cried all night."
Original lyrics to Aura Lea
Can't Help Falling In Love by George Weiss, Hugo Peretti, & Luigi Creatore (1961)
1961 copyright registration entry for Can't Help Falling in Love
The melody of Can't Help Falling in Love was adapted from Plaisir d'amour, a work published in 1784. The music was written by Jean-Paul-Égide Martini. Many people have sung that version of the song that Marianne Faithfull sang in 1965.
The adapted song, Can't Help Falling in Love, as it can be seen from the image above, was copyrighted on January 16, 1961.
It's Now or Never by Aaron Schroeder & Wally Gold (1966)
1960 copyright registration entry for It's Now or Never
The song It's Now or Never was written by Aaron Schroeder & Wally Gold in 1960. The melody was adapted from 'O sole mio which was composed by Eduardo di Capua in 1898. You can listen to the Italian operatic pop trio perform it here.
The song It's Now or Never was popularized by Elvis Presley in 1960, and became one of his biggest selling singles, selling more than 20 million copies.
Wooden Heart by Fred Wise, Ben Weisman, Kay Twomey, Bert Kaempfert (1960)
1960 copyright registration entry for Wooden Heart
The song Wooden Heart was written by Fred Wise, Ben Weisman, Kay Twomey & Berthold Kaempfert in 1960. The melody of the song was adapted from a German folk-style song titled Muss i denn. It dates back at least to 1827 when Friedrich Silcher published a version of it.
In 1960, Wooden Heart was recorded by Elvis Presley for his film G.I. Blues. It was a big hit and it reached number one in many parts of the world.
Tonight Is So Right for Love by Joseph J. Lilley, Sid Wayne & Abner Silver (1960)
1960 copyright registration entry for Tonight is So Right for Love
The song Tonight Is So Right for Love was written by Joseph J. Lilley, Sid Wayne and Abner Silver in 1960. The melody of the song was adapted from Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour (or as it is more commonly known—Barcarolle). The piece was composed by Jacques Offenbach for the 1881 opera The Tales of Hoffmann. You can see both works juxtaposed here.
Tonight Is So Right for Love was recoded by Elvis Presley for his film G.I. Blues and became a hit.
Perhaps due to a clerical error, the original copyright registration entry incorrectly credits "adapted from a theme by Johann Strauss"
Note regarding sound recordings: While the underlying musical compositions to a song (e.g., music and lyrics) might be in the public domain, the actual sound recording itself, if published after December 31, 1922, is NOT in the public domain.