Public domain in the US, the EU and the UK

Moby-DickHerman Melville, 1851

Melville's whale hunt is free to adapt, from "Call me Ishmael" to the last chase. A visual story that AI can finally make affordable.

First published
1851
Author died
1891
Original language
English
Start my adaptationOriginal texts

Copyright status

Copyright ends at different dates in different countries. Here is where this work stands in the three places most readers release in.
WhereStatus
United StatesPublic domain. First published in 1851, before 1931: the 95-year US term for works of that age has run out.
European Union and United KingdomPublic domain since 1 January 1962. Herman Melville died in 1891, and the term is 70 years after the end of the year of death.
Other countriesMost 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.

Ishmael, a restless sailor, signs on to the whaler Pequod with the harpooner Queequeg. Once at sea, the ship's captain, Ahab, who lost his leg to a white sperm whale, reveals the real purpose of the voyage: to hunt down Moby Dick. Ahab drives the crew across the oceans, ignoring every warning, until a three-day chase ends with the ship sunk and Ishmael the only survivor.

Free to use

  • The 1851 novel: Ishmael, Ahab, Queequeg, Starbuck, Stubb, Flask, Pip, the Pequod and the white whale.
  • The famous opening line and Ahab's speeches.
  • Melville's chapters on whaling, which can become visual interludes.
  • Any version: a space ship, a submarine, a modern fishing boat, a series.

Watch out for

  • The scripts, designs and music of the 1956 film and later versions are protected.
  • Recent annotated editions and new translations are protected. Use the 1851 text or an old translation.
  • Never prompt for an actor from a famous version.
  • A white whale is common to many images. Describe yours from Melville (the wrinkled white brow, the scarred hump) and keep it consistent as a story element.

The full rules, with the laws and court decisions behind them, are in our guide to adapting public domain works.

An adaptation idea

Pip's voyage: the cabin boy who went mad at sea watches Ahab lose his mind too.

Format: A feature, or a five-episode series ending with the three-day chase.

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.

  1. 1Download the 1851 text below. It is long, so split it into several PDFs if needed: ScreenWeaver reads up to 300 pages per file, for free with a text layer.
  2. 2Attach it to a series project and ask for the characters, places and objects. Create the whale and the Pequod as story elements.
  3. 3Write the art direction: Nantucket in winter, an old whaler, the open ocean in every weather. Add a style image of your own.
  4. 4Ask for the scenes of the chapters you keep, then the shots of each scene.
  5. 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 Moby-Dick from a legal source

Questions

Is Moby-Dick public domain?
Yes. Herman Melville published it in 1851 and died in 1891. It is free in the US, the EU and the UK.
Do I have to keep the whaling chapters?
No. You can adapt any part of the book and leave out the rest.
Can I sell a film based on it?
Yes. Anyone can adapt and sell a public domain novel. Your own script, images and edit are yours.

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

Start your adaptation.

Import Moby-Dick, build the cast and the places, write the scenes and cut them into shots. The Screenwriter plan is free.
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