Public domain in the US, the EU and the UK

The Great GatsbyF. Scott Fitzgerald, 1925

Fitzgerald's novel has been free in the US since 2021. The famous cover painting is a separate work, and outside the US it is still protected.

First published
1925
Author died
1940
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 1925, before 1931: the 95-year US term for works of that age has run out.
European Union and United KingdomPublic domain since 1 January 2011. F. Scott Fitzgerald died in 1940, 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.

Nick Carraway rents a cottage on Long Island next to the mansion of Jay Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire whose parties fill the summer of 1922. Gatsby turns out to have bought the house to be across the bay from Daisy Buchanan, Nick's cousin, whom he loved before the war. He asks Nick to bring them together again. The affair ends in a car accident, a murder and a funeral almost no one attends.

Free to use

  • The 1925 novel: Nick, Gatsby, Daisy and Tom Buchanan, Jordan Baker, Myrtle and George Wilson, West Egg, East Egg and the valley of ashes.
  • The green light at the end of Daisy's dock, the billboard eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg and the last line.
  • Any version: a different era, Gatsby's own point of view, Daisy's, a series, a musical with your own songs.
  • Commercial release in the US, the EU and the UK.

Watch out for

  • Francis Cugat's painting on the 1925 first edition cover is a separate work. It is public domain in the US with the 1925 edition, but Cugat died in 1981, so in the EU and the UK it is protected until the end of 2051. Make your own poster.
  • The 1974 and 2013 films, their soundtracks and the stage musicals are protected.
  • New translations and annotated editions are protected. Use the 1925 text or your own translation.
  • AI models often borrow the look of the 2013 film. Write your own art direction for the 1920s.

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

An adaptation idea

Gatsby from Daisy's side: the girl in the white car, and the summer she was chosen for a second time.

Format: A feature, or a five-episode series following one summer.

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 1925 text below and save it as a PDF with a text layer, which ScreenWeaver reads for free.
  2. 2Attach it to a project and ask for the characters, places and objects. Create the green light and Gatsby's yellow car as objects.
  3. 3Write the art direction: Long Island in the heat of 1922, a mansion lit for a party, the grey valley of ashes. Add a style image of your own.
  4. 4Ask for the scenes, 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 The Great Gatsby from a legal source

Questions

Is The Great Gatsby public domain?
Yes. The novel was published in 1925, so it entered the US public domain on 1 January 2021. F. Scott Fitzgerald died in 1940, so it has been free in the EU and the UK since 2011 (in Spain since 2021).
Can I use the famous cover with the eyes?
In the US, the 1925 cover is public domain with the edition. In the EU and the UK, Francis Cugat's painting is protected until the end of 2051. A poster of your own avoids the question.
Can I use songs from the 2013 film?
No. The soundtrack is protected. Use original music or music that is itself in the public domain, and check the recording too.

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

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