Copyright status of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and related works in the United States facts for kids
Have you ever wondered why there are so many different movies, books, and shows about the Land of Oz? The answer is a bit tricky and has to do with something called copyright.
Copyright is a law that protects creative works, like books and movies. It gives the creator the sole right to make and sell copies for a set amount of time. When that time is up, the work enters the public domain. This means anyone can use the story and characters for free to create new adventures!
The Oz series is very long and was written by many different authors. Plus, the copyright law of the United States has changed over the years. This makes figuring out which Oz stories are in the public domain a little confusing. As of 2025, many of the original Oz books and some old films are free for everyone to use. Every year, another Oz book enters the public domain. If the laws don't change again, all 40 of the main Oz books, known as the Famous Forty, will be in the public domain by 2059.
Contents
The Oz Books and Copyright
The Original Author: L. Frank Baum
When L. Frank Baum wrote the first Oz book, copyright law was different. A law passed in 1909 changed the rules and let copyrights last for a total of 56 years if they were renewed. The family of L. Frank Baum made sure to renew the copyright for all of his Oz books.
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900): This is the book that started it all! It entered the public domain in 1956. This allowed the main Oz publisher, Reilly & Lee, to print their own version for the first time.
- The Marvelous Land of Oz (1904): This second book became public domain in 1960.
Baum's other Oz books, from Ozma of Oz (1907) to Glinda of Oz (1920), were affected by new laws. The Copyright Act of 1976 extended copyright protection to 75 years. Because of this, Baum's later books entered the public domain one by one between 1983 and 1996. Once these books became public domain, other authors could legally use characters and places from them to write new Oz stories.
All of Baum's other works, including non-Oz books and plays, are also in the public domain.
The Second Royal Historian: Ruth Plumly Thompson
Ruth Plumly Thompson took over writing the Oz series after Baum. The copyright rules affected her books in different ways.
Her first two books, The Royal Book of Oz (1921) and Kabumpo in Oz (1922), entered the public domain after 75 years, in 1997 and 1998.
However, a new law in 1998 called the Sonny Bono Act extended copyright for another 20 years, making the total 95 years. This affected twelve of Thompson's books, from The Cowardly Lion of Oz (1923) to Speedy in Oz (1934). These books started entering the public domain in 2019 and will continue to do so until 2030.
Interestingly, Thompson forgot to renew the copyright on her last five official Oz books. This means books like The Wishing Horse of Oz and Captain Salt in Oz entered the public domain just 28 years after they were published, back in the 1960s!
Other Oz Authors
Many other authors contributed to the main "Famous Forty" Oz books.
- John R. Neill: He wrote three Oz books between 1940 and 1942. His family renewed the copyrights, so they are protected for 95 years. They will enter the public domain between 2036 and 2038.
- Jack Snow: Snow wrote two Oz books in the 1940s. He never renewed their copyrights, so they entered the public domain in the 1970s.
- Rachel Cosgrove: Her book The Hidden Valley of Oz (1951) had its copyright renewed and will enter the public domain in 2047.
- Eloise Jarvis McGraw and Lauren Lynn McGraw: Their book Merry Go Round in Oz (1963) was the last of the "Famous Forty." Its copyright was renewed, so it will be the last of the original 40 books to enter the public domain in 2059.
Table of Main Oz Books
This table shows when each of the main Oz books entered or will enter the public domain.
| Order | Title | Year published | Author | Year entered 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) |
Oz Movies and Their Copyrights
The Famous 1939 Movie
The most famous version of Oz is the 1939 movie with Judy Garland. Its copyright was renewed, so it is protected for 95 years. It will enter the public domain in 2035.
The company that owns the film, WB/Turner Entertainment Co., is very protective of its copyright. This has created challenges for other Oz movies. A court decided that any new things created just for the 1939 film, like the specific look of the characters, are protected by copyright. This is important because the movie is very different from the book.
Return to Oz (1985)
The 1985 Disney movie Return to Oz was based on Baum's second and third books, The Marvelous Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz. By the time the movie was made, both of these books were in the public domain, so Disney could use their stories.
However, there was one famous element from the 1939 movie that Disney wanted to use: the ruby slippers. In the original book, Dorothy's shoes were silver. The ruby slippers were so famous from the movie that Disney paid the other studio for the right to use them.
Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)
The 2013 movie Oz the Great and Powerful is a prequel that tells the story of how the Wizard came to Oz. The filmmakers had to be very careful not to copy anything that was created specifically for the 1939 film.
They even had a copyright expert on the movie set! This expert made sure that the Wicked Witch's green skin was a different shade of green than the one in the 1939 film. They also made sure the Emerald City looked different.
The Wicked Witch of the West
The Wicked Witch of the West is one of the most famous villains ever. But there's a twist: the witch you probably picture, with green skin and a pointy black hat, is from the 1939 movie. That version is protected by copyright.
In L. Frank Baum's original book, the witch was not described as having green skin. This means the book version of the character is in the public domain. Anyone can write a story about her, but they can't make her look like the green-skinned witch from the movie.
Because Baum never gave the witch a name, other creators have given her one in their own stories. Some famous names for the witch are:
- Elphaba: from the musical Wicked
- Theodora: from the movie Oz the Great and Powerful
- Zelena: from the TV show Once Upon a Time
- Evillene: from the musical The Wiz
Each of these names is copyrighted as part of the story it came from. This means new creators who want to tell a story about the Wicked Witch have to keep coming up with their own unique versions.
