Free to use- Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) — Milne’s text and Shepard’s illustrations — under US copyright law, from January 1, 2022.
- This point is held back from the free entry and appears in full in the character's dossier.
- This point is held back from the free entry and appears in full in the character's dossier.
Not free to use- Disney’s Pooh character designs, created from 1961 onwards, which remain under copyright.
- This point is held back from the free entry and appears in full in the character's dossier.
- This point is held back from the free entry and appears in full in the character's dossier.
- This point is held back from the free entry and appears in full in the character's dossier.
5 more points on this determination are held back. The full list is in the full dossier →
About
Winnie-the-Pooh is the gentle, honey-loving bear at the center of A. A. Milne’s Hundred Acre Wood, inspired by a real teddy bear owned by Milne’s son, Christopher Robin. Introduced in the 1926 book Winnie-the-Pooh and illustrated by E. H. Shepard, Pooh and his friends — Piglet, Eeyore, Owl, Kanga, Roo, and later Tigger — became one of the best-loved casts in children’s literature and one of Disney’s most enduring licensed properties.
Version scope
Pooh, Piglet, Rabbit, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, and Owl entered US public domain January 1, 2022. Tigger is NOT included — introduced in the 1928 sequel, his date is January 1, 2024, two years later than the rest of the cast.
Trademark exposure
High. Disney holds trademarks tied to its own licensed character designs, unaffected by the Milne text/illustrations entering the public domain.
Key case law
No major litigation. The 2022 clearance produced Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023) as a widely publicized test of what the status actually permits.
Informational, not legal adviceGood “ensemble” example — a public-domain date applies per-character, not per-franchise. Tigger’s 2-year lag is the detail naive sources miss. 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 available by unlocking the full dossier.
Open
