Public domain in the US, the EU and the UK

Dr Jekyll and Mr HydeRobert Louis Stevenson, 1886

Stevenson's 1886 novella is short, free and built like a mystery: a strong first project for an AI short film.

First published
1886
Author died
1894
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 1886, before 1931: the 95-year US term for works of that age has run out.
European Union and United KingdomPublic domain since 1 January 1965. Robert Louis Stevenson died in 1894, 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.

The London lawyer Gabriel Utterson worries about his friend Dr Henry Jekyll, who has made a will in favour of a violent young man named Edward Hyde. After Hyde beats a member of parliament to death, Utterson pieces the truth together from letters: Jekyll and Hyde are the same man, split by a drug Jekyll can no longer control.

Free to use

  • The novella of 1886: Utterson, Jekyll, Hyde, Dr Lanyon, Poole the butler, and the London fog.
  • Stevenson's Hyde: small, pale and young, giving an impression of deformity without any malformation you can name. Not a hulking brute.
  • The structure: a mystery seen from outside, resolved by two written statements at the end.
  • Updates, gender swaps, a modern pharma thriller, a series: everything is yours to change.

Watch out for

  • The transformation make-up of the 1931 and 1941 Hollywood films, and the songs of the 1990 stage musical, belong to those works.
  • Later characters built on Hyde, in comics or games, are protected. Take Hyde from Stevenson only.
  • Modern annotated editions and recent translations are protected. Use the 1886 text.
  • An AI model asked for "Mr Hyde" often draws a muscular monster from later versions. Describe Stevenson's Hyde instead.

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

An adaptation idea

We follow only the lawyer: the transformation stays off screen until the last letter is read.

Format: A 15 to 20-minute short, or three episodes built on the three documents of the book: Utterson's inquiry, Lanyon's narrative, Jekyll's statement.

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 1886 text below. At about 25,000 words it fits in one PDF with room to spare, read for free when it has a text layer.
  2. 2Attach it to a film project and ask for the characters and places. Write Hyde's story element from Stevenson's description.
  3. 3Write the art direction: gaslight, brown fog, Soho alleys, a laboratory behind a blind door with no bell or knocker. Add a style image you made.
  4. 4Ask for scenes that stay with Utterson, then for the shots. Keep the transformation for the final 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 Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde from a legal source

Questions

Is Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in the public domain?
Yes. It was published in 1886 and Robert Louis Stevenson died in 1894. It is free in the US, the EU and the UK.
Can I use the musical's songs?
No. The stage musical is a separate, recent work and its music and lyrics are protected. Write or commission your own score.
Is the book long enough for a feature?
It is a novella, so a feature means inventing scenes. That is allowed: everything you add is your own work. For a first project, a short film fits the length best.

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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Import Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, build the cast and the places, write the scenes and cut them into shots. The Screenwriter plan is free.
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