Overview of works entering public domain
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Union 70 years after the creator's death, if it was published during the creator's lifetime.[ 1] [ 2] For previously unpublished material, those who publish it first will have the publication rights for 25 years.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 + 60 years
In Bangladesh, India, and Venezuela a work enters the public domain 60 years after the creator's death.
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
Muhammad Taha al-Huwayzi
Iran Iraq
1889
4 April 1968
Religious teacher, poet
Tā'liqāt fī mustafīḍah al-fiqh wa-al-uṣūl
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 [es ]
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 [es ]
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 would 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
Safety Last! entered the public domain in the US in 2019.
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 the first 2 volumes of 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.
On January 24th 2019 it was announced that Nina Paley was placing her 2018 film Seder-Masochism in the public domain.[ 9]
See also
References
External links