Reviewed 2026-08-10 · United States jurisdiction only · compiled from the sources listed in the margin
Partially free — version dependent
Confidence · Medium
Plate
The All-Story, October 1912 — cover for the first publication of “Tarzan of the Apes: A Romance of the Jungle”Clinton PetteeThe All-Story Magazine, October 1912 (Frank A. Munsey Co.)Archive file page →Public domain — Wikimedia Commons, tagged {{PD-1923}}
First appearance1912 — Tarzan of the Apes
Source work24 novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs (1912–1947)
Rights holderEdgar Rice Burroughs (d. 1950); trademark held by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.
Tarzan of the Apes as published in The All-Story, October 1912, and the 1914 first book edition, under US copyright law.
Burroughs novels published in 1930 or earlier.
Clinton Pettee’s October 1912 cover art.
Not free to use
Burroughs novels published after 1930 — these need an individual date and renewal check that has not been performed here.
Trademark rights held by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., which have been enforced against public domain source material before.
Film, television and comic adaptations, each a separate copyrighted work.
Any jurisdiction other than the United States.
About
Tarzan is the orphaned son of English aristocrats, raised by apes in the African jungle, created by American author Edgar Rice Burroughs. He first swung into print in the 1912 novel Tarzan of the Apes — pulp adventure fiction that made him an instant sensation — and went on to headline 24 novels plus decades of films, comics, and merchandise across the 20th century.
Version scope
Tarzan of the Apes (1912) and Burroughs’ other pre-1930 novels are public domain under the fixed US date rule. Later novels in the 24-book series require individual verification — not all are confirmed free.
Trademark exposure
High. Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. has a long record of using trademark law to restrict use of Tarzan even where the underlying novel is confirmed public domain.
Key case law
ERB Inc. v. Dynamite Entertainment (2012) — sued over Dynamite’s comics based on public-domain Burroughs novels, on trademark/unfair-competition grounds, not copyright. Settled 2014 with a licensing arrangement.
Informational, not legal advice
The clearest example of trademark used offensively against a confirmed-PD work — a real court fight happened over exactly this tension. This determination is sourced and dated but is not a substitute for legal counsel — verify against primary sources before relying on it commercially.
The complete record: full publication history, the succession of rights holders, the term arithmetic, the expanded legal analysis, and the full source list — already compiled and reviewed, just held back from this page by default.
Each item carries the citation it was compiled from. Nothing is served here whose own rights status has not been checked separately from the character’s.
Item 01 — PlateJPEG · 650 × 930 px
The All-Story, October 1912 — cover for the first publication of “Tarzan of the Apes: A Romance of the Jungle”
Clinton Pettee. The All-Story Magazine, October 1912 (Frank A. Munsey Co.), October 1912. Public domain — Wikimedia Commons, tagged {{PD-1923}}. Archive file page.
Why this file is free to useFirst US publication was the October 1912 issue of The All-Story — decades before the January 1, 1931 cutoff, so the US copyright term is long expired regardless of whether it was ever renewed. Chosen deliberately over any later book-edition or film artwork: this is the serialization the status determination is actually about.
The complete record: full publication history, the succession of rights holders, the term arithmetic, the expanded legal analysis, and the full source list — already compiled and reviewed, just held back from this page by default. Formatted for printing — use your browser’s Print dialog and choose “Save as PDF”.
Read before relying on itInformational, not legal advice. The dossier states its jurisdiction (United States), its review date, and its confidence value on the first page.
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