January 1st 2019 may be the ringing of the new year but it’s also an important date for another reason. This is the date in which Charlie Chaplin, the Charleston and other works published in 1923 will enter the public domain for the first time under the terms of the Sonny Bono Copyright Act of 1998. that extended the length of protection afforded to copyrighted works by 20 years.
That means that you will be able to read classic literature from authors as diverse as Agatha Christie and H.G. Wells free of charge, view classic silent films from Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton and record your own version of the Charleston!
Check out this article from Lifehacker for a more detailed breakdown of what this means.