The copyright status of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and related works in the United States is complicated for several reasons. The book series is very long-running, and written by multiple authors, so the books often fall on opposite sides of eligibility for copyright laws. There have also been multiple adaptations across many different media, which enjoy different kinds of copyright protection. The copyright law of the United States has changed many times, and impacted Oz works every time. , thirty-one Oz books and five films are in the public domain. Starting in 2019, an Oz book has entered the public domain every year. Barring another extension of copyright terms, all of the Famous Forty will be in the public domain by 2059.
This page explains the copyright status of those works in the US only, and the copyright status of the works may vary by country. For example, L. Frank Baum died in 1919, and that means that his works entered the public domain in 1990 in most countries and in 2020 in Mexico (as Mexico has a life plus 100 year term).
Books
L. Frank Baum When L. Frank Baum began publishing the Oz books, the copyright law in effect was the Copyright Act of 1831, which provided a 28-year term with a possible fourteen more years upon renewal of the copyright. However, the Copyright Act of 1909 retroactively affected Baum's books, allowing a 28-year renewal for fifty-six total years of copyright protection. The L. Frank Baum Trust renewed the copyright on all of Baum's Oz novels.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was published in 1900, and was the first to enter the public domain in 1956. This allowed Reilly & Lee, the publisher of all the other Oz books (as well as Baum's other books) to issue their own edition of The Wizard of Oz, which had previously been published by George M. Hill Company and later by the Bobbs-Merrill Company after Hill went bankrupt.
The Marvelous Land of Oz, which was published in 1904, followed suit and entered public domain in 1960.
All of Baum's subsequent Oz books, published between 1907 and 1920, had their copyright extended by subsequent laws. Between 1962 and 1974, Congress passed nine copyright acts extending the copyright one or two years each time (these acts also introduced the rule that rounds the copyright term up to the end of that calendar year). This ensured that all works published after September 1906 (and renewed as necessary) stayed copyrighted until the Copyright Act of 1976 took effect.US Copyright Office, "Duration of Copyright" The 1976 Act extended the renewal to 47 years, meaning works could stay copyrighted for 75 years after publication. Thus, the rest of Baum's Oz books did not enter public domain until the 75-year terms were up. Ozma of Oz (published in 1907) was the first of these to enter the public domain in 1983, and the subsequent books followed, with Glinda of Oz (published in 1920) finally entering the public domain in 1996.
This accounts for all of the apocryphal Oz books that sprang forth in the 1980s; once more Oz books entered the public domain, it allowed other authors to use those elements in their own works.
All of Baum's other works—non-Oz books, plays, and musicals—are also in the public domain, and have been since 1995 at the latest.
Ruth Plumly Thompson The first two books written by Ruth Plumly Thompson, The Royal Book of Oz (published in 1921) and Kabumpo in Oz (published 1922), entered the public domain 75 years later (1997 and 1998, respectively) pursuant to the Copyright Act of 1976. The next twelve books (The Cowardly Lion of Oz through Speedy in Oz, published between 1923 and 1934) were still copyrighted when the 1998 Sonny Bono Act extended the copyright term a further twenty years, meaning works would now be copyrighted for 95 years. These twelve books of Thompson's therefore did not begin to enter the public domain until 2019, with The Cowardly Lion of Oz coming first and Grampa in Oz following in 2020, The Lost King of Oz in 2021, and The Hungry Tiger of Oz in 2022. By 2030, all of them will be in the public domain.
Thompson did not renew the copyright on her last five canonical books: The Wishing Horse of Oz, Captain Salt in Oz, Handy Mandy in Oz, The Silver Princess in Oz, and Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz. Thus, these books entered the public domain 28 years after publication, between 1963 and 1967. Congress amended the copyright law in 1992 so there would subsequently be automatic renewals of copyright. Therefore, the copyright on Thompson's deutero-canonical books Yankee in Oz (published in 1972) and The Enchanted Island of Oz (published in 1976) will not expire until 2068 and 2072 respectively.
John R. Neill John R. Neill's three canonical Oz books—The Wonder City of Oz, The Scalawagons of Oz, and Lucky Bucky in Oz—were published between 1940 and 1942. Neill's heirs renewed the copyrights, so these books will not enter the public domain until 2036 through 2038, pursuant to the 95-year term. A fourth Oz book by Neill—The Runaway in Oz—was written by Neill in 1943. It was published posthumously in 1995. It was edited, expanded and illustrated by Eric Shanower, so The Runaway in Oz will enter the public domain 70 years after the death of the last surviving author. Since Eric Shanower is still alive, The Runaway in Oz will remain copyrighted until at least 2094.
Jack Snow Snow published two canonical Oz books: The Magical Mimics in Oz in 1946, and The Shaggy Man of Oz in 1949. The copyright was never renewed on either of these, so they entered the public domain in 1974 and 1977, respectively.
Rachel Cosgrove The Hidden Valley of Oz was published by Rachel Cosgrove in 1951, had the copyright renewed, and therefore will enter public domain in 2047.
Cosgrove also wrote The Wicked Witch of Oz in 1954. However, it was not published until 1993. Since it was published after 1977, it will remain copyrighted for seventy years after the author's death. Cosgrove died in 1998, so The Wicked Witch of Oz will enter public domain in 2069.
Eloise Jarvis McGraw and Lauren Lynn McGraw The McGraws' canonical book, Merry Go Round in Oz, was published in 1963. The copyright was renewed, so it will enter the public domain in 2059. It will be the last book in the Famous Forty to enter the public domain.
The McGraws co-wrote another Oz book, The Forbidden Fountain of Oz, which was published in 1980. Its copyright lasts for seventy years after the death of last living author. Lauren McGraw is still alive, so The Forbidden Fountain of Oz will enter the public domain seventy years after her death. Since it will remain copyrighted until at least 2094, it will be the last deutero-canonical work to enter the public domain.
Eloise McGraw wrote The Rundelstone of Oz by herself, and it was published posthumously in 2001. Since Eloise McGraw died in 2000, it will enter the public domain in 2071. All other Oz books (with the exception of the special cases listed below) are still copyrighted under the current laws of 70 years after author's death. Please note that the illustrations and the cover art are considered separate works from the text, so they may enter the public domain at a different date.
Table of canonical and deutero-canonical Oz books
Order Title Year published Author Year entered/will enter public domain 1 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 1900 L. Frank Baum 1956 2 The Marvelous Land of Oz 1904 L. Frank Baum 1960 3 Ozma of Oz 1907 L. Frank Baum 1983 4 Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz 1908 L. Frank Baum 1984 5 The Road to Oz 1909 L. Frank Baum 1985 6 The Emerald City of Oz 1910 L. Frank Baum 1986 7 The Patchwork Girl of Oz 1913 L. Frank Baum 1989 8 Tik-Tok of Oz 1914 L. Frank Baum 1990 9 The Scarecrow of Oz 1915 L. Frank Baum 1991 10 Rinkitink in Oz 1916 L. Frank Baum 1992 11 The Lost Princess of Oz 1917 L. Frank Baum 1993 12 The Tin Woodman of Oz 1918 L. Frank Baum 1994 13 The Magic of Oz 1919 L. Frank Baum 1995 14 Glinda of Oz 1920 L. Frank Baum 1996 15 The Royal Book of Oz 1921 Ruth Plumly Thompson 1997 16 Kabumpo in Oz 1922 Ruth Plumly Thompson 1998 17 The Cowardly Lion of Oz 1923 Ruth Plumly Thompson 2019 18 Grampa in Oz 1924 Ruth Plumly Thompson 2020 19 The Lost King of Oz 1925 Ruth Plumly Thompson 2021 20 The Hungry Tiger of Oz 1926 Ruth Plumly Thompson 2022 21 The Gnome King of Oz 1927 Ruth Plumly Thompson 2023 22 The Giant Horse of Oz 1928 Ruth Plumly Thompson 2024 23 Jack Pumpkinhead of Oz 1929 Ruth Plumly Thompson 2025 24 The Yellow Knight of Oz 1930 Ruth Plumly Thompson 2026 25 Pirates in Oz 1931 Ruth Plumly Thompson 2027 26 The Purple Prince of Oz 1932 Ruth Plumly Thompson 2028 27 Ojo in Oz 1933 Ruth Plumly Thompson 2029 28 Speedy in Oz 1934 Ruth Plumly Thompson 2030 29 The Wishing Horse of Oz 1935 Ruth Plumly Thompson 1963 30 Captain Salt in Oz 1936 Ruth Plumly Thompson 1964 31 Handy Mandy in Oz 1937 Ruth Plumly Thompson 1965 32 The Silver Princess in Oz 1938 Ruth Plumly Thompson 1966 33 Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz 1939 Ruth Plumly Thompson 1967 Yankee in Oz 1972 Ruth Plumly Thompson 2068 The Enchanted Island of Oz 1976 Ruth Plumly Thompson 2072 34 The Wonder City of Oz 1940 John R. Neill 2036 35 The Scalawagons of Oz 1941 John R. Neill 2037 36 Lucky Bucky in Oz 1942 John R. Neill 2038 The Runaway in Oz 1995 John R. Neill & Eric Shanower 70 years after Eric Shanower dies 37 The Magical Mimics in Oz 1946 Jack Snow 1974 38 The Shaggy Man of Oz 1949 Jack Snow 1977 39 The Hidden Valley of Oz 1951 Rachel R. Cosgrove 2047 The Wicked Witch of Oz 1993 Rachel R. Cosgrove 2069 (text only) 70 years after Eric Shanower dies (illustrations and cover art only) 40 Merry Go Round in Oz 1963 Eloise Jarvis McGraw & Lauren Lynn McGraw 2059 The Rundelstone of Oz 2001 Eloise Jarvis McGraw 2071 (text only) 70 years after Eric Shanower dies (illustrations and cover art only) The Forbidden Fountain of Oz 1980 Eloise Jarvis McGraw & Lauren Lynn McGraw 70 years after Lauren McGraw dies (text only) 2061 (illustrations and cover art only)
Infringements on the Oz books
Frank Baum Baum's son, Frank Joslyn Baum, wrote his own Oz story – The Laughing Dragon of Oz. The text barely mentioned Oz, and no Oz characters were used except for his own and a brief mention of the Wizard.David L. Greene and Dick Martin. The Oz Scrapbook. He tried to get it published by Reilly & Lee, but they refused, and he published it with Whitman Publishing Company in 1934. This could have been an infringing work at the time – all of the Oz books were still copyrighted, and the rights were held by Frank Baum's mother, Maud Gage Baum. Both Maud Baum and Reilly & Lee sued Frank Baum and Whitman Publishing. The case was settled and The Laughing Dragon stayed out of print until 2006. However, its copyright was renewed in 1962,Copyright Office, Library of Congress."Catalog of Copyright Entries 1962 July–December" so it will remain copyrighted until 2030, per the 95-year term. The Laughing Dragon of Oz was the first high-profile case of infringement on the Oz books, and it would be the first of many.
Alexander Volkov Alexander Volkov's six Oz books were published in the Soviet Union, so they are subject to Russian copyright law. The first book – The Wizard of the Emerald City – was published in 1939, when The Wizard of Oz was still copyrighted. The Wizard of the Emerald City is an adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, borrowing liberally from the original book. The subsequent four books were published between 1963 and 1970, and the last one – The Secret of the Deserted Castle – was published in 1982. At the time of publication, The Wizard of Oz and The Land of Oz were in the public domain, but the other Oz books were still copyrighted. However, Volkov's books are mostly original sequels to The Wizard of the Emerald City, so whether they are infringing or not is difficult to say. Barely any of the elements from later Oz books are featured in Volkov's works, so most likely they were not infringing.