Public domain in the US, the EU and the UK
The Jungle BookRudyard Kipling, 1894
Kipling's 1894 stories are free. King Louie, the songs and the look of Disney's characters are not, and Kipling's Kaa is not a villain.
- First published
- 1894
- Author died
- 1936
- Original language
- English
Copyright status
| Where | Status |
|---|---|
| United States | Public domain. First published in 1894, 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 2007. Rudyard Kipling died in 1936, 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.
A boy lost in the Indian jungle is adopted by a wolf pack, which names him Mowgli. Bagheera the panther and Baloo the bear teach him the Law of the Jungle, while the tiger Shere Khan wants him dead. When the monkeys kidnap Mowgli, the python Kaa helps rescue him. Threatened at the Council Rock, Mowgli drives Shere Khan off with fire, goes to live among men, and later kills the tiger with a stampede of buffalo.
Free to use
- The 1894 book: Mowgli, Akela, Bagheera, Baloo, Kaa, Shere Khan, the Bandar-log and the Council Rock.
- The other stories in the book, such as Rikki-Tikki-Tavi and The White Seal, and The Second Jungle Book (1895).
- The illustrations of the first edition, including those by Kipling's father, John Lockwood Kipling (who died in 1911).
- Any version: a darker one, modern India, a series.
Watch out for
- King Louie is a Disney invention: he is not in the book. Disney's songs, character designs and the scripts of its 1967 and 2016 films are protected.
- In Kipling, Kaa is Mowgli's ally, not the hypnotic villain of the Disney film.
- Kipling died in 1936, so his books are free in the EU and the UK since 2007 (in Spain since 2017). New translations are protected.
- AI models lean towards Disney's designs. Describe Kipling's animals and check every frame.
The full rules, with the laws and court decisions behind them, are in our guide to adapting public domain works.
An adaptation idea
The Law of the Jungle: Mowgli's trial before the Council Rock, told as a courtroom drama among wolves.
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.
- 1Download the 1894 text below and save it as a PDF with a text layer.
- 2Attach it to a series project and ask for the characters and places. Describe each animal from Kipling, not from the films.
- 3Write the art direction: Indian forest and ruins, the Cold Lairs, a village at the jungle's edge. Add a style image of your own.
- 4Ask for the scenes of the Mowgli stories, then the shots of each scene.
- 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 Jungle Book from a legal source
- Project GutenbergEnglishPublic 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.
- Standard EbooksEnglishA proofread edition that Standard Ebooks dedicates to the public domain (CC0).
- WikisourceEnglishSearch across editionsSearch results across editions. Each edition names its source: for a translation, check who translated it and when.
Questions
Is The Jungle Book public domain?
Can I include King Louie?
Can I use the songs from the Disney film?
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
- Tarzan of the ApesThe 1912 novel is free in the US, the UK and most of the EU. The name Tarzan is a trademark that its owner enforces, so this one needs care before any title or merchandise.
- PinocchioCollodi's 1883 book is free, and much darker than the films. Disney's puppet, Jiminy Cricket's name and look, and recent films belong to their makers.
- The Wonderful Wizard of OzBaum's 1900 book is free to adapt. The ruby slippers, the green-skinned witch and the songs come from the 1939 film, and Wicked is its own protected work.