When a work's copyright expires, it enters the public domain. The following is a list of works that entered the public domain in 2019. Since laws vary globally, the copyright status of some works are not uniform.

Entering the public domain in countries with life + 70 years

With the exception of Spain (which has a copyright term of Life + 80 years for creators that died before 1987), a work enters the public domain in the European Union 70 years after the creator's death, if it was published during the creator's lifetime.[1][2] For previously unpublished material, those who publish it first will have the publication rights for 25 years. Russia uses Life + 74 for authors who worked during World War II, otherwise copyright is Life + 70.[3] The list is sorted alphabetically and includes a notable work of the creator that entered the public domain on January 1, 2019.

Names Country Birth Death Occupation Notable work
Alexander Aaronsohn  Israel 1888 1948 Author With the Turks in Palestine
Sabahattin Ali  Turkey 25 February 1907 2 April 1948 Novelist §Works
Francisco Alonso  Spain 9 May 1887 18 May 1948 Composer Las Leandras
Carl Thomas Anderson  United States 14 February 1865 4 November 1948 Cartoonist Henry
Antonin Artaud  France 4 September 1896 4 March 1948 Dramatist §Works
Kan'ichi Asakawa  Japan 20 December 1873 10 August 1948 Historian The Russo-Japanese Conflict: Its Causes and Issues
Gertrude Atherton  United States 30 October 1857 14 June 1948 Novelist §Works
Jatindramohan Bagchi  India 27 November 1878 1 February 1948 Poet
Milan Begović  Croatia 19 January 1876 13 May 1948 Writer Pustolov pred vratima
Hulusi Behçet  Turkey 20 February 1889 8 March 1948 Physician Clinical and Practical Syphilis, Diagnosis and Related Dermatoses
Ruth Benedict  United States 5 June 1887 17 September 1948 Anthropologist The Chrysanthemum and the Sword
Frank Benford  United States 29 May 1883 4 December 1948 Physicist The law of anomalous numbers
Gertrude Barrows Bennett  United States 18 July 1884 2 February 1948 Writer of science fiction and fantasy The Citadel of Fear, The Heads of Cerberus, Claimed
Nikolai Berdyaev  Russia 18 March 1874 24 March 1948 Philosopher §Works
Folke Bernadotte  Sweden 2 January 1895 17 September 1948 Diplomat, nobleman §Works
Georges Bernanos  France 20 February 1888 5 July 1948 Writer The Diary of a Country Priest
Hendrik van der Bijl  South Africa 23 November 1887 2 December 1948 Engineer Theory and Operating Characteristics of the Thermionic Amplifier
Nasib al-Bitar  Palestine 13 June 1890 26 June 1948 Jurist Al-Fareeda Fi Hisab Al-Fareedhah
André Bloch  France 20 November 1893 11 October 1948 Mathematician La conception actuelle de la theorie des fonctions entieres et meromorphes
Joseph Friedrich Nicolaus Bornmüller  Germany 6 February 1862 19 December 1948 Botanist Beiträge zur Flora Mazedoniens
Gordon Bottomley  United Kingdom 20 February 1874 25 August 1948 Poet, playwright The Crier By Night
Harry Brearley  United Kingdom 18 February 1871 14 July 1948 Metallurgist Knotted String
Sophonisba Breckinridge  United States 1 April 1866 30 July 1948 Economist, social scientist Marriage and the Civic Rights of Women
Robert Briffault  United Kingdom 1876 11 December 1948 Anthropologist, novelist The Mothers: A Study of the Origins of Sentiments and Institutions
Abraham Brill  United States 12 October 1874 2 March 1948 Psychiatrist Psychoanalysis: Its Theories and Practical Application
Alice Brown  United States 5 December 1857 21 June 1948 Writer §Works
Subhadra Kumari Chauhan  India 16 August 1904 15 February 1948 Poet Jhansi Ki Rani
Hiram Alfred Cody  Canada 3 July 1872 9 February 1948 Writer, Clergyman The Frontiersman: A Tale of the Yukon
Umberto Coromaldi  Italy 21 September 1870 5 October 1948 Painter Happy Mother
Osamu Dazai  Japan 19 June 1909 13 June 1948 Author The Setting Sun, No Longer Human
Mary Angela Dickens  United Kingdom 31 October 1862 7 February 1948 Writer Cross Currents
Dildar  Iraq 20 February 1918 12 October 1948 Poet Ey Reqîb
Janus Djurhuus  Faroe Islands 26 February 1881 1 September 1948 Poet
Lawrence Donovan  United States July 1866 11 March 1948 Novelist and pulp fiction author
Rheta Childe Dorr  United States 2 November 1866 8 August 1948 Journalist, Suffragist What Eight Million Women Want
O. Douglas  United Kingdom 24 March 1877 24 November 1948 Author Olivia in India
Sergei Eisenstein  Russia 22 January 1898 11 February 1948 Film Director Battleship Potemkin
Pompeu Fabra  Spain 20 February 1868 25 December 1948 Grammarian Diccionari General de la Llengua Catalana
Ferdinand I of Bulgaria  Bulgaria 26 February 1861 10 September 1948 King of Bulgaria (1887–1918), author, botanist, entomologist
Jacques Feyder  Belgium 21 July 1885 24 May 1948 Film Director, screenwriter, Crainquebille
William Arms Fisher  United States 27 April 1861 18 December 1948 Composer, writer
Zelda Fitzgerald  United States 24 July 1900 10 March 1948 Novelist Save Me the Waltz
Gustaf Fjæstad  Sweden 22 December 1868 17 July 1948 Artist
Karl Gebhardt  Germany 23 November 1897 2 June 1948 Doctor Chirurgische krankengymnastik
Umberto Giordano  Italy 28 August 1867 12 November 1948 Composer Andrea Chénier
Susan Glaspell  United States 1 July 1876 28 July 1948 Playwright, novelist Trifles
Arshile Gorky  United States 15 April 1904 21 July 1948 Painter The Liver is the Cock's Comb
D. W. Griffith  United States 22 January 1875 23 July 1948 Film director, producer The Birth of a Nation, Broken Blossoms
Alexander Alfonsovich Grossheim  Ukraine 6 March 1888 4 December 1948 Botanist
Frederick Philip Grove  Germany  Canada 14 February 1879 9 September 1948 Writer, translator Settlers of the Marsh
Uzeyir Hajibeyov  Azerbaijan 18 September 1885 23 November 1948 Composer Leyli and Majnun
Thomas William Hanforth  United Kingdom 6 March 1867 5 June 1948 Composer
Ernest George Henham  United Kingdom 14 December 1870 3 April 1948 Writer Furze the Cruel
Ernst Herzfeld  Germany 23 July 1879 21 January 1948 Archaeologist Die Ausgrabungen von Samarra
Johan Hjort  Norway 18 February 1869 7 October 1948 Marine Biologist The Depths of the Ocean
Seth Hoffman  United States 8 September 1895 2 August 1948 Artist
Vicente Huidobro  Chile 10 January 1893 2 January 1948 Poet Altazor o el viaje en paracaídas
Victor Ido  Indonesia 8 February 1869 20 May 1948 Writer, journalist De paupers
William Henry Irwin  United States 14 September 1873 24 February 1948 Journalist, writer The House That Shadows Built
Susan Sutherland Isaacs  United Kingdom 24 May 1885 12 October 1948 Psychologist Intellectual Growth in Young Children
Hédi Khayachi  Tunisia 1882 1948 Painter
Kan Kikuchi  Japan 26 December 1888 6 March 1948 Novelist Tōjūrō no Koi
Egon Kisch  Czech Republic 29 April 1885 31 March 1948 Journalist, writer Schreib das auf, Kisch!
August Köhler  Germany 4 March 1866 12 March 1948 Physicist Gedanken zu einem neuen Beleuchtungsverfahren für mikrophotographische Zwecke
Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein  Germany 24 April 1870 16 October 1948 General Mit dem Turken zum Suezkanal
Nikolai Yakovlevich Kuznetsov  Russia 23 May 1873 8 April 1948 Entomologist The Eurasian Arctic Fauna and Its Origin
Franz Lehár  Hungary 30 April 1870 24 October 1948 Composer List of operas and operettas
Rudolf Franz Lehnert  Germany 13 July 1878 16 January 1948 Photographer
Maximilian Lenz  Austria 4 October 1860 19 May 1948 Artist A World, A Song of Spring
Monteiro Lobato  Brazil 18 April 1882 4 July 1948 Novelist, publisher Sítio do Picapau Amarelo (novel series)
Ross Lockridge Jr.  United States 25 April 1914 6 March 1948 Novelist Raintree County
Emil Ludwig  Germany 25 January 1881 17 September 1948 Biographer Bismarck
Edith Balfour Lyttelton  United Kingdom 4 April 1865 2 September 1948 Writer, spiritualist
Nikola Marinov  Bulgaria 10 July 1879 16 December 1948 Painter
Jan Masaryk  Czech Republic 14 September 1886 10 March 1948 Politician Speaking to My Country
Ilya Mashkov  Russia 29 July 1881 20 March 1944 Painter
A. E. W. Mason  United Kingdom 7 May 1865 22 November 1948 Author, politician The Four Feathers
Gerardo Matos Rodríguez  Uruguay 28 March 1897 25 April 1948 Composer La cumparsita
Claude McKay  Jamaica 15 September 1889 22 May 1948 Writer §Works
Ernest Merritt  United States 28 April 1865 5 June 1948 Physicist, educator
Kerry Mills  United States 1 February 1869 5 December 1948 Composer
Harry A. Millis  United States 14 April 1873 25 June 1948 Economist
Wesley Clair Mitchell  United States 5 August 1874 29 October 1948 Economist The Role of Money in Economic Theory
Thomas Mofolo  Lesotho 22 December 1876 8 September 1948 Writer Chaka
Prosper Montagné  France 14 November 1865 22 April 1948 Chef, Gastronome Larousse Gastronomique
Sylvanus Morley  United States 7 June 1883 2 September 1948 Archeologist The Ancient Maya
Baldassarre Negroni  Italy 21 January 1877 18 July 1948 Film director The Courier of Moncenisio
Fred Niblo  United States 6 January 1877 7 November 1948 Film Director, actor Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
Alan Odle  United Kingdom 1888 1948 Illustrator
Edith Olivier  United Kingdom 31 December 1872 10 May 1948 Writer Alexander the Corrector: The Eccentric Life of Alexander Cruden
Conal Holmes O'Connell O'Riordan  Ireland 29 April 1874 18 June 1948 Dramatist, novelist Adam of Dublin
Margaret Pedler  United Kingdom 1877 28 December 1948 Romance Author Barbarian Lover
John J. Pershing  United States 19 March 1860 15 July 1948 General My Experiences in the World War
Albert Pollard  United Kingdom 16 December 1869 3 August 1948 Historian The Evolution of Parliament
Manuel Ponce  Mexico 8 December 1882 24 April 1948 Composer Estrellita
Abram Ranovich  Russia 15 December 1885 29 May 1948 Historian On Early Christianity
Charles Herbert Reilly  United Kingdom 4 March 1874 2 February 1948 Architect Representative British Architects of the Present Day
Charles Grant Robertson  United Kingdom 1869 29 February 1948 Historian, novelist England under the Hanoverians
J.-H. Rosny jeune  Belgium
 France		 21 July 1859 21 July 1948 Writer
Sultanzade Sabahaddin  Turkey 13 February 1879 30 June 1948 Sociologist The Witness
Husain Salaahuddin  Maldives 14 April 1881 20 September 1948 Writer The Story of Thakurufaan the Great
Maria Olga de Moraes Sarmento da Silveira  Portugal 26 May 1881 17 October 1948 Writer, feminist Problema Feminista
Kurt Schwitters  Germany 20 June 1887 8 January 1948 Artist Das Undbild
Antonin Sertillanges  France 16 November 1863 26 July 1948 Priest, author What Jesus Saw from the Cross
Lamed Shapiro  United States 10 March 1878 1948 Author Di yidishe melukhe un andere zakhn
D. D. Sheehan  Ireland 28 May 1873 28 November 1948 Politician, author Ireland since Parnell
David Shterenberg  Russia 26 July 1881 1 May 1948 Painter and graphic artist §Works
Charles Silvestre  France 2 February 1889 31 March 1948 Novelist §Works
Annie M. P. Smithson  Ireland 26 September 1873 21 February 1948 Author, nurse. The Walk of a Queen
Marjory Stephenson  United Kingdom 24 January 1885 12 December 1948 Biochemist
Montague Summers  United Kingdom 10 April 1880 10 August 1948 Author and clergyman Malleus Maleficarum
Alexander du Toit  South Africa 14 March 1878 25 February 1948 Geologist Our Wandering Continents; An Hypothesis of Continental Drifting
Richard C. Tolman  United States 4 March 1881 5 September 1948 Physicist The Principles of Statistical Mechanics
Karl Valentin  Germany 4 June 1882 9 February 1948 Comedian §Works
José Vianna da Motta  Portugal 22 April 1868 1 June 1948 Pianist, composer §Works
Franco Vittadini  Italy 9 April 1884 30 November 1948 Composer Anima Allegra
Augusto Weberbauer  Germany 26 November 1871 16 January 1948 Botanist Die Pflanzenwelt der peruanischen Anden in ihren Grundzügen
Paul Wegener  Germany 11 December 1874 13 September 1948 Film Director, screenwriter The Student of Prague
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari  Italy 12 January 1876 21 January 1948 Composer Il segreto di Susanna
George MacKinnon Wrong  Canada 25 June 1860 29 June 1948 Historian The Conquest of New France
Muhammad Amin Zaki  Iraq 1880 1948 Historian A Short History of the Kurds and Kurdistan
Andrei Zhdanov  Russia 26 February 1896 31 August 1948 Politician Советская литература,
Стахановцы настоящие большевики производства

Entering the public domain in countries with life + 50 years

In most countries of Africa and Asia, as well as Belarus, Bolivia, Canada, New Zealand and Uruguay; a work enters the public domain 50 years after the creator's death.

Names Country Birth Death Occupation Notable work
Peter Arno  United States 8 January 1904 22 February 1968 Cartoonist
Karl Barth   Switzerland 10 May 1886 10 December 1968 Theologian Church Dogmatics
Enid Blyton  United Kingdom 11 August 1897 28 November 1968 Writer The Famous Five, The Secret Seven, Noddy
Hugo Butler  United States 4 May 1914 7 January 1968 Screenwriter Lassie Come Home
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco  Italy 3 April 1895 16 March 1968 Composer Les Guitares bien tempérées
Juan José Castro  Argentina 7 March 1895 3 September 1968 Composer
Randolph Churchill  United Kingdom 28 May 1911 6 June 1968 Journalist, politician Lord Derby: King of Lancashire
Carmelo de Arzadun  Uruguay 16 July 1888 16 October 1968 Painter
Kees van Dongen  Netherlands 26 January 1877 28 May 1968 Painter Woman with Large Hat
Carl Theodor Dreyer  Denmark 3 February 1889 20 March 1968 Film Director Michael
Marcel Duchamp  France 28 July 1887 2 October 1968 Artist, writer Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2, Fountain
Margaret Duley  Canada 27 September 1894 22 March 1968 Novelist §Works
Edna Ferber  United States 15 August 1885 15 April 1968 Novelist, playwright So Big, Show Boat
Red Foley  United States 17 June 1910 19 September 1968 Singer-songwriter Old Shep
Lucio Fontana  Italy 19 February 1899 7 September 1968 Painter, sculptor
Ruth France  New Zealand 12 June 1913 19 August 1968 Librarian, poet, novelist The Race
George Gamow  Soviet Union
 United States		 4 March 1904 19 August 1968 Physicist, Science writer One Two Three... Infinity and Mr. Tompkins series
Alice Guy-Blaché  France 1 July 1873 24 March 1968 Filmmaker, screenwriter La Fée aux Choux
Otto Hahn  Germany 8 March 1879 28 July 1968 Chemist Applied Radiochemistry
John Heartfield  Germany 19 June 1891 26 April 1968 Artist
Fannie Hurst  United States 19 October 1885 23 February 1968 Novelist Imitation of Life, Lummox
W. E. Johns  United Kingdom 5 February 1893 21 June 1968 Writer, aviator The Biggles series
Anna Kavan  United Kingdom 10 April 1901 5 December 1968 Writer Ice
Helen Keller  United States 27 June 1880 1 June 1968 Author, activist The Story of My Life
Robert F. Kennedy  United States 20 November 1925 6 June 1968 Politician, lawyer, author The Enemy Within
Martin Luther King Jr.  United States 15 January 1929 4 April 1968 Civil rights leader, minister Why We Can't Wait
Robert Z. Leonard  United States 7 October 1889 27 August 1968 Film Director, screenwriter The Great Ziegfeld
Albert Lewin  United States 23 September 1894 9 May 1968 Director, screenwriter The Picture of Dorian Gray
Trygve Lie  Norway 16 July 1896 30 December 1968 Politician, author In the Cause of Peace: Seven Years With The United Nations
Howard Lindsay  United States 29 March 1889 11 February 1968 Playwright, librettist State of the Union
Little Walter  United States 1 May 1930 15 February 1968 Blues musician Juke
Dorothea Mackellar  Australia 1 July 1885 14 January 1968 Poet My Country
Archie Mayo  United States 29 January 1891 4 December 1968 Film director, actor Night After Night
Ramón Menéndez Pidal  Spain 13 March 1869 14 November 1968 Historian La España del Cid
Thomas Merton  United States 31 January 1915 10 December 1968 Monk, author The Seven Storey Mountain
José Monegal  Uruguay 25 July 1892 4 November 1968 Writer, journalist Memorias de Juan Pedro Camargo
Wes Montgomery  United States 6 March 1923 15 June 1968 Jazz guitarist The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery
Elsie K. Morton  New Zealand 5 October 1885 21 August 1968 Journalist, writer Along the Road: a book of New Zealand life and travel
Walter Nash  New Zealand 12 February 1882 4 June 1968 Politician New Zealand: a working democracy
Edwin O'Connor  United States 29 July 1918 23 March 1968 Novelist, journalist The Last Hurrah, The Edge of Sadness
Erwin Panofsky  United States 30 March 1892 14 March 1968 Art Historian Early Netherlandish Painting
Mervyn Peake  United Kingdom 9 July 1911 17 November 1968 Writer Gormenghast Trilogy
Salvatore Quasimodo  Italy 20 August 1901 14 June 1968 Writer Giorno dopo giorno
Herbert Read  United Kingdom 4 December 1893 12 June 1968 Art Historian To Hell With Culture
Conrad Richter  United States 13 October 1890 30 October 1968 Novelist The Town
Nelle Scanlan  New Zealand 15 January 1882 5 October 1968 Novelist, journalist The Pencarrow series
Upton Sinclair  United States 20 September 1878 25 November 1968 Writer The Jungle
John Steinbeck  United States 27 February 1902 20 December 1968 Novelist Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath
Tian Han  China 12 March 1898 10 December 1968 Playwright Xie Yaohuan
Rose Wilder Lane  United States 5 December 1886 30 October 1968 Writer, Political Theorist The Discovery of Freedom
Clare Winger Harris  United States 18 January 1891 October 1968 Writer Away From the Here and Now
Justino Zavala Muniz  Uruguay 16 July 1898 23 March 1968 Writer, playwright, historian, journalist, politician La cruz de los caminos, Alto Alegre

Entering the public domain in Australia

In 2004 copyright in Australia changed from a "plus 50" law to a "plus 70" law, in line with the United States and the European Union. But the change was not made retroactive (unlike the 1995 change in the European Union which brought some e.g. British authors back into copyright, especially those who died from 1925 to 1944). Hence the work of an author who died before 1955 is normally in the public domain in Australia; but the copyright of authors was extended to 70 years after death for those who died in 1955 or later, and no more Australian authors will come out of copyright until 1 January 2026 (those who died in 1955).

On January 1, 2019, any unpublished work by an author who died in 1948 or before entered the public domain.[4] Additionally, any published literary, artistic, dramatic, or musical work (other than computer programs) by a not generally known author (anonymous or pseudonymous) from 1948 or before entered the public domain.

Entering the public domain in the United States

2019 was the first year since 1998 in which the majority of media from a previous year entered the public domain after the expiration of its copyright term.[5] 2019 is also the first year in this annual process, where 1923 works become public domain that year, then 1924 works in 2020, and so on forward.[5]

Under the Copyright Term Extension Act, books, films, and other works published in the United States in 1923 entered the public domain in 2019.[6] Additionally, unpublished works whose authors died in 1948 entered the public domain. Foreign works from 1923 that were never published in the United States may be in the public domain as well.[7] This was the first time since January 1, 1998, that a new group of works entered the public domain in the United States. From now on, works governed by the Copyright Act of 1909 will enter the public domain at the end of the 95th calendar year from publication. For example, 1924 works entered the public domain on January 1, 2020, 1925 works in 2021, and so forth.

No United States audio recordings entered the public domain (as those fixed before February 15, 1972 were covered by state laws only), but international audio recordings published in 1923 entered the public domain in 2019. Under the Music Modernization Act, 1923 domestic audio recordings entered the public domain in 2024. However, all sheet music published in 1923 in the United States entered the public domain in 2019.

Some of the works that entered public domain are The Great American Novel by William Carlos Williams, Charlie Chaplin's The Pilgrim, Harold Lloyd's Safety Last!, Robert Frost's Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet, The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie, Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments, Aldous Huxley's Antic Hay, and Winston Churchill’s The World Crisis.[5] While Christie, Huxley, and Churchill were all non-American authors, these works were also published in the United States and their copyright was registered and renewed.[8] Hence, copyright expired in 2019.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "EU Extends Copyright Term To 70 Years | Billboard". Billboard.biz. 2011-09-12. Archived from the original on 2013-01-06. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
  2. ↑ "EUR-Lex – 32006L0116 – EN – EUR-Lex". eur-lex.europa.eu. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  3. ↑ "Article 1281 of Civil Code". Consultant.ru. Retrieved 2012-06-08.
  4. ↑ "New copyright duration changes coming". Australian Government-Department of Communications & The Arts. 2018-04-23. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 Fleishman, Glenn (8 April 2018). "A Landslide of Classic Art Is About to Enter the Public Domain". The Atlantic. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  6. ↑ "Copyright and the Public Domain". Public Domain Information Project. Archived from the original on 2014-08-01. Retrieved 2015-12-13.
  7. ↑ "Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States | Copyright Information Center". copyright.cornell.edu. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
  8. ↑ "Copyright Renewals". Spotlight at Stanford. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.