007: License to Infringe

Dear Rich: Ian Fleming's Casino Royale entered the public domain in Japan in 2015, 50 years after his death. The same 50-year rule applies in Canada, where Fleming's character of James Bond is also in the public domain. In 2023, a Japanese musical, Casino Royale - My Name's Bond, based on Ian Fleming's Casino Royale novel, became the first stage play featuring the character of James Bond. (All roles in the play, including Bond, were played by women.) Do you have a list of countries where Casino Royale is in the public domain? Once a work enters the public domain, can it return to copyright? Please clarify this and explain whether this scenario applies to Casino Royale. Additionally, does the public domain status of Casino Royale allow me to use the book title and the character of James Bond in derivative works, such as films? I know that specific elements introduced in the films, such as the Aston Martin DB5 and the Walther PK, remain copyrighted and cannot be used. 

The James Bond books are in the public domain in approximately 100 countries (listed below). These countries terminate copyright fifty years after the death of the author. (As a general rule, the rest of the world terminates copyright 70 years after death.) Because Ian Fleming died in 1964, all James Bond books fell into the public domain in the life + 50-year countries in 2015. However, in countries that terminate copyright 70 years after death (for example, the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, and Australia), the Bond books won't be in the public domain until 2035. 

What can you do now? In the life + 50 years countries, you can reproduce the books or create derivative works; for example, you can produce a musical such as Casino Royale - My Name's Bond using Bond and other book characters. 

What can't you do? You can't sell, manufacture, create derivatives, or distribute James Bond works in countries with life + 70 years duration. So, for example, you could not stage the Japanese musical in the U.S. Regardless of copyright duration (life + 50 or life + 70 years), you cannot use elements that were created for the films but that do not appear in the books. This rule for serialized works was applied in 2013 when Sherlock Holmes stories went public domain. So, for example, in the books, Bond drives an Aston Martin DB Mark III. In the films, he drives a tricked-out Aston Martin DB5. In the films, Ms. Moneypenny is flirtatious and speaks in double entendres, villain Blofeld is bald and has a cat, and Bond shoots a Walter PPK/S. This is different from the books. As a precaution, you should avoid using these cinematic elements.

Can a public domain work acquire copyright protection? "Public domain" refers to creative materials not protected by intellectual property laws. The public owns these works, not an individual author or artist. Anyone can use a public domain work without obtaining permission, but no one can own it. Public domain works cannot revert to copyright protection except for some foreign works that omitted copyright notice and are subject to the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA), passed in 1994.

Jurisdictions where the James Bond novels are in the public domain include: Afghanistan,  Algeria,  Anguilla,  Antigua and Barbuda,  Aruba,  Bahrain,  Barbados,  Belarus,  Belize,  Benin,  Bermuda,  Bhutan, Bolivia, Brunei,  Burundi,  Cambodia,  Cameroon,  Canada*,  Cape Verde,  China,  Democratic Republic of the Congo,  Republic of the Congo, Cuba,  Curaçao,  Djibouti,  El Salvador,  Eswatini,  Ethiopia,  Fiji,  Gambia,  Guyana,  Hong Kong,  Iran,  Iraq, Japan**, Jordan,  Kazakhstan,  Kenya,  Kiribati,  Kosovo,  North Korea,  Kyrgyzstan,  Laos,  Lebanon,  Lesotho,  Liberia,  Macau,  Madagascar,  Malawi, Malaysia,  Maldives,  Mali,  Micronesia,   Monaco,  Mongolia, Morocco,  Namibia,  Nauru,    Nepal,  Caribbean Netherlands,  New Zealand,  Niger,  Pakistan,  Palau,  Papua New Guinea, Philippines,  Qatar,  Saint Helena,  St. Kitts and Nevis,  St. Lucia,  San Marino,  Saudi Arabia,  Seychelles,  Sierra Leone,  Sint Maarten,  Solomon Islands,  South Africa,  Sudan,  Suriname,  Syria,  Taiwan (Republic of China),  Tanzania,  Thailand,  Timor Leste,  Togo,  Tonga,  Trinidad and Tobago,  Tunisia,  Turkmenistan,  Tuvalu,  Uganda,  United Arab Emirates,  Vanuatu,  Yemen,  Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

* Life+50 years for authors who died before 1972.

** Japan had a life+50 years prior to 2018