Public domain in the US and the UK, and in the EU except Spain until 1 January 2027

The Time MachineH. G. Wells, 1895

Wells's 1895 novella is free in the US, the UK and most of the EU. Spain joins on 1 January 2027, and the machines designed for the films still have owners.

First published
1895
Author died
1946
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 1895, before 1931: the 95-year US term for works of that age has run out.
European Union and United KingdomPublic domain since 1 January 2017. H. G. Wells died in 1946, and the term is 70 years after the end of the year of death. Exception: Spain keeps an 80-year term for authors who died before 1987, so the work only becomes free there on 1 January 2027.
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.

A Victorian inventor, known only as the Time Traveller, tells his dinner guests about his journey to the year 802,701. He found a world split in two: the gentle, childlike Eloi living in the sun, and the Morlocks, pale creatures who live underground and come up at night to feed on them. When the Morlocks steal his machine, he has to go down into their tunnels to get it back, then travels on to the dying Earth at the end of time.

Free to use

  • The 1895 novella: the Time Traveller, Weena, the Eloi, the Morlocks, the White Sphinx and the far future beach under a red sun.
  • The frame of the dinner party and the guests who don't believe him.
  • Any version: another era, the Morlocks' side, a series.
  • Commercial release in the US, the UK and the EU; in Spain from 1 January 2027.

Watch out for

  • Wells died in 1946, so the novella only became free in the EU and the UK on 1 January 2017. Spain, which keeps 80 years for authors who died before 1987, protects it until 31 December 2026.
  • The machine designs and creature make-up of the 1960 and 2002 films are protected. Draw your machine from Wells's few lines.
  • New translations are protected. Use the original English or an old translation.
  • AI models know the 1960 film's machine well. Describe your own and check each frame.

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

An adaptation idea

Weena's story: an Eloi girl follows a stranger who refuses to be afraid of the dark.

Format: A 20-minute short, or a feature that adds the journeys Wells only mentions.

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 1895 text below and save it as a PDF with a text layer.
  2. 2Attach it to a project and ask for the characters, places and objects. Create the machine as an object with its own reference sheet.
  3. 3Write the art direction: a Victorian study, a ruined garden world, the Morlocks' dark wells. Add a style image of your own.
  4. 4Ask for the scenes, then the shots of each scene, citing the machine wherever it appears.
  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 Time Machine from a legal source

Questions

Is The Time Machine public domain?
In the US, the UK and most of the EU, yes. H. G. Wells published it in 1895 and died in 1946. Spain protects it until 31 December 2026.
Can I use the machine from the 1960 film?
No. That design was created for the film. Wells describes his machine only briefly, which leaves you free to design your own.
Are the Morlocks free to use?
Yes, as Wells describes them. Avoid copying the make-up of a film version.

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