Public domain in the US, the EU and the UK
Around the World in Eighty DaysJules Verne, 1872
Verne's 1872 race around the world is free. The hot-air balloon everyone remembers comes from the 1956 film, not from the book.
- First published
- 1872
- Author died
- 1905
- Original language
- French
Copyright status
| Where | Status |
|---|---|
| United States | Public domain. First published in 1872, before 1931: the 95-year US term for works of that age has run out. |
| European Union and United Kingdom | Public domain since 1 January 1976. Jules Verne died in 1905, and the term is 70 years after the end of the year of death. |
| Other countries | Most countries protect a work for 50 to 100 years after its author's death, and some have transition rules. If you release or sell in a specific country, check its law. |
Status checked on October 26, 2026 against the sources listed in our legal guide.
In 1872 the precise English gentleman Phileas Fogg bets his club £20,000 that he can travel around the world in eighty days. He leaves that evening with his new French valet, Passepartout, by train and steamship, followed by Inspector Fix, who believes Fogg robbed the Bank of England. In India they rescue a young widow, Aouda, from being burned. Back in London Fogg thinks he has lost by five minutes, until he learns that travelling east has won him a day.
Free to use
- The French original of 1872 and its old translations.
- Phileas Fogg, Passepartout, Inspector Fix and Aouda.
- The route by train, steamer, elephant and sledge on sails, and the day gained crossing the date line.
- Any version: a modern race, a series with one country per episode.
Watch out for
- The hot-air balloon is not in Verne's novel: it was added by the 1956 film. That film, its designs and its music are protected, as are later versions such as the 2021 series.
- Recent translations are protected. Check who made one before quoting it, or translate from the French.
- The book has colonial clichés of its time, which an adaptation will need to handle.
- AI models often add the balloon. Remove it from your frames unless it is your own idea.
The full rules, with the laws and court decisions behind them, are in our guide to adapting public domain works.
An adaptation idea
Inspector Fix's eighty days: the detective who chases an innocent man around the world.
Adapt it in ScreenWeaver
These are the steps as they run in ScreenWeaver today. You read and edit every step, and you start every generation yourself, in the app.
- 1Get the French text from Wikisource or Gallica, or an old English translation from Project Gutenberg, and save it as a PDF with a text layer.
- 2Attach it to a series project and ask for the characters, places and objects. Create Fogg's travel bag and the calendar as objects.
- 3Write the art direction: 1872 London, Suez, Bombay, Hong Kong, the American West. Add a style image of your own.
- 4Ask for one episode per stage of the journey, then the shots of each episode.
- 5Generate the frames in Storyboard, then the clips in Production.
How a whole book becomes scenes and shots: novel to storyboard.
Original texts
Where to get Around the World in Eighty Days from a legal source
- Project GutenbergEnglishEnglish translation: check who made it and when they died before you quote its wordingPublic domain in the US. Outside the US, check your own law. If you republish the file, remove the Project Gutenberg name and licence, as its licence asks.
- WikisourceFrenchSearch across editionsSearch results across editions. Each edition names its source: for a translation, check who translated it and when.
- Gallica (BnF)FrenchSearch across editionsScans of historical French editions at the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Free for non-commercial reuse with the source credited; the BnF charges for commercial reuse of its files.
Questions
Is Around the World in Eighty Days public domain?
Did Fogg travel by balloon?
Can I make a modern race version?
General information, not legal advice. Copyright, trademark and personality rights depend on the country and on the facts of each project. For a commercial release, have a lawyer check your chain of rights.
Other works to adapt
- Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the SeasVerne's French text and its original engravings are free. Many English translations are not, and neither is Disney's Nautilus.
- Treasure IslandStevenson's pirate novel is free: the map, the black spot, Long John Silver and his parrot. Later versions, including Disney's Treasure Planet, are not.
- The Time MachineWells's 1895 novella is free in the US, the UK and most of the EU. Spain joins on 1 January 2027, and the machines designed for the films still have owners.