Public domain in the US, the EU and the UK

The Three MusketeersAlexandre Dumas, 1844

Dumas's 1844 adventure is free: d'Artagnan, the three friends, Milady and "all for one, one for all." Recent translations and the films are not.

First published
1844
Author died
1870
Original language
French
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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 1844, before 1931: the 95-year US term for works of that age has run out.
European Union and United KingdomPublic domain since 1 January 1941. Alexandre Dumas died in 1870, 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.

In 1625 young d'Artagnan arrives in Paris from Gascony, hoping to join the King's Musketeers, and on his first day manages to challenge three of them, Athos, Porthos and Aramis, to duels. They become inseparable. Together they cross the Cardinal Richelieu's guards and his deadly agent Milady de Winter to save the Queen's honour by bringing back a set of diamond studs from London before a royal ball.

Free to use

  • The French original of 1844 and the old English translations.
  • D'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, Aramis, Milady, Constance, Richelieu, Rochefort and the Queen's diamond studs.
  • "All for one, one for all" ("Tous pour un, un pour tous").
  • The sequels Dumas wrote, Twenty Years After and The Vicomte de Bragelonne, and any version you make.

Watch out for

  • Recent translations are protected. Check who made one and when they died before quoting it, or translate from the French.
  • Each film owns its script, its costumes and its changes to the story, including the recent French films.
  • Brands and products using the name have their own trademarks: search the registers before using it on merchandise.
  • Never prompt for an actor from a famous version.

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

An adaptation idea

Milady's side: the spy who outplays four swordsmen, until she doesn't.

Format: A feature, or an eight-episode series that follows the novel's two halves.

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. 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.
  2. 2Attach it to a series project and ask for the characters, places and objects. Give each musketeer his own story element.
  3. 3Write the art direction: 1620s Paris, the Louvre, inns on the road to Calais, the siege of La Rochelle. Add a style image of your own.
  4. 4Ask for the scenes of the diamond studs episode, 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 Three Musketeers from a legal source

Questions

Is The Three Musketeers public domain?
Yes. Alexandre Dumas published it in 1844 and died in 1870. The French text is free in the US, the EU and the UK.
Can I use "all for one, one for all"?
Yes. The motto is in Dumas's novel.
Can I use the sequels?
Yes. Twenty Years After and The Vicomte de Bragelonne are by Dumas and are also free.

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 The Three Musketeers, build the cast and the places, write the scenes and cut them into shots. The Screenwriter plan is free.
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