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

The War of the WorldsH. G. Wells, 1898

Wells's invasion is free in the US, the UK and most of the EU. Spain follows on 1 January 2027, and the radio, musical and film versions still have their own owners.

First published
1898
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 1898, 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 cylinder falls on Horsell Common, near Woking. The Martians inside build towering three-legged fighting machines, burn the crowds with a Heat-Ray, gas London with black smoke and drive millions out of the city. The narrator survives in ruins with a curate and an artilleryman, until the invaders die, killed by Earth's bacteria.

Free to use

  • The 1898 novel: the unnamed narrator, his brother's flight from London, the curate, the artilleryman, the ironclad Thunder Child.
  • Wells's tripods, Heat-Ray, black smoke and red weed, as he describes them.
  • Moving it anywhere: another country, today, from the Martians' side, as a series.
  • A commercial release in the US, the UK and the EU, Spain from 1 January 2027.

Watch out for

  • Wells died in 1946, so the novel only became free in the EU and the UK on 1 January 2017, and in Spain, which keeps 80 years for authors who died before 1987, it stays protected until 31 December 2026. Hold a Spanish release until 2027.
  • The 1938 radio play written by Howard Koch for Orson Welles, the 1978 Jeff Wayne musical and the machine designs of the 1953 and 2005 films are separate works with their own owners.
  • Recent translations are protected. Use the original English or an old translation.
  • AI models know the film tripods well. Describe Wells's machines in your art direction 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

The brother's chapters: the exodus from London as a disaster film seen from the road.

Format: A 30-minute short built on the chapters about the narrator's brother, or a series following both brothers.

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 1898 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 one fighting machine as an object with its own reference sheet.
  3. 3Write the art direction: late-Victorian Surrey, steam trains, a burning London. Add your own style image.
  4. 4Ask for the scenes of the chapters you chose, then the shots, 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 War of the Worlds from a legal source

Questions

Is The War of the Worlds in the public domain?
Yes in the US, the UK and most of the EU. It was published in 1898 and H. G. Wells died in 1946, so it has been free in the EU and the UK since 1 January 2017. Spain applies an 80-year term to authors who died before 1987: there it becomes free on 1 January 2027.
Can I recreate the 1938 radio broadcast?
Not its script: it was written by Howard Koch and is a separate work. You can make your own fake broadcast from Wells's novel.
Can I use the tripods?
Yes, as Wells describes them. Avoid copying the specific designs of a film or of the musical's artwork.

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 War of the Worlds, build the cast and the places, write the scenes and cut them into shots. The Screenwriter plan is free.
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