2019 in 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 ^{[1] [2]} For previously unpublished material, those who publish it first will have the publication rights for 25 years.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
Na Hye-sŏk	South Korea	28 April 1896	10 December 1948	Painter	Works
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.

Names	Country	Birth	Death	Occupation	Notable work
Eleanor Hallowell Abbott	United States	22 September 1872	4 June 1958	novelist, poet, short story writer	Molly Make-Believe, But Once A Year: Christmas Stories
Johannes R. Becher	Germany	22 May 1891	11 October 1958	politician, novelist, and poet	Auferstanden aus Ruinen
James Branch Cabell	United States	14 April 1879	5 May 1958	fantasy writer	Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice, Biography of the Life of Manuel
Virginia Brindis de Salas	Uruguay	18 September 1908	6 April 1958	Poet	Pregón de Marimorena
Harry Cohn	United States	23 July 1891	27 February 1958	Filmmaker
E. Everett Evans	United States	30 November 1893	2 December 1958	Science fiction author
Margiad Evans	United Kingdom	17 March 1909	17 March 1958	illustrator, novelist, poet	Country Dance, Autobiography, A Ray of Darkness, The Nightingale Silenced
Dorothy Canfield Fisher	United States	17 February 1879	9 November 1958	literary critic, memoirist, novelist, short story writer, translator	Understood Betsy
Marjorie Flack	United States	22 October 1897	29 August 1958	children's writer, illustrator	writer of The Story About Ping, illustrator of The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes
Lion Feuchtwanger	Germany	7 July 1884	21 December 1958	writer, journalist, novelist and playwright	author of Jud Süß (Süss, the Jew)
Angelina Weld Grimké	United States	27 February 1880	10 June 1958	playwright, poet	Rachel
Juan Ramón Jiménez	Spain	23 December 1881	29 May 1958	Poet
Michael Joseph	United Kingdom	26 September 1897	15 March 1958	Writer, publisher	How to Write Serial Fiction, Puss in Books: A collection of stories about cats, The Sword in the Scabbard
Maxim Kopf	Austria-Hungary Czechoslovakia United States	18 January 1892	6 July 1958	Painter, graphic artist and sculptor	paintings from Tahiti and the Marquesas Islands
Cyril M. Kornbluth	United States	2 July 1923	21 March 1958	science fiction writer	The Little Black Bag, The Marching Morons
Henry Kuttner	United States	7 April 1915	3 February 1958	Writer of fantasy, horror fiction, and science fiction.	The Graveyard Rats, Mimsy Were the Borogoves
Charles Kvapil  [ fr ]	Belgium	19 November 1884	21 December 1958	Painter
Rose Macaulay	United Kingdom	1 August 1881	30 October 1958	biographer, novelist, travel writer	The World My Wilderness, The Towers of Trebizond
Ismail Marzuki	Indonesia	11 May 1914	15 May 1958	composer, songwriter	Gugur Bunga , Halo, Halo Bandung , Indonesia Pusaka
Johnston McCulley	United States	2 February 1883	23 November 1958	Author	Zorro
G. E. Moore	United Kingdom	4 November 1873	24 October 1958	journal editor, philosopher	Principia Ethica, A Defence of Common Sense
Charles Langbridge Morgan	United Kingdom	22 January 1894	6 February 1958	novelist, playwright	The Burning Glass
Alfred Noyes	United Kingdom	16 September 1880	25 June 1958	playwright, poet, short story writer	The Highwayman, Shakespeare's Kingdom
Seumas O'Sullivan	Ireland	17 July 1879	24 March 1958	magazine editor, poet	Twilight People, Verses Sacred and Profane
Elliot Paul	United States	10 February 1891	7 April 1958	journalist, novelist, screenwriter	Life and Death of a Spanish Town, Linden on the Saugus Branch
H. G. Peter	United States	8 March 1880	2 January 1958	Cartoonist	Wonder Woman
Nicolae Petrescu-Comnen	Romania	24 August 1881	8 December 1958	social scientist	Accidente profesionale (Work-related Accidents), Câteva considerațiuni asupra socialismului și asupra roadelor sale (Some Musings on Socialism and Its Results
Rudolph Rocker	Germany United Kingdom United States	25 March 1873	19 September 1958	anarchist publisher and activist	Nationalism and Culture
Peig Sayers	Ireland	1873	8 December 1958	seanchaí (traditional Gaelic storyteller and historian)	Peig, Machnamh Seanmhná (An Old Woman's Reflections)
Robert W. Service	Canada	16 January 1874	11 September 1958	poet	The Shooting of Dan McGrew, The Cremation of Sam McGee
J. C. Squire	United Kingdom	2 April 1884	20 December 1958	historian, literary critic, magazine editor, poet	Robin Hood: a farcical romantic pastoral , Shakespeare as a Dramatist
John Reed Swanton	United States	19 February 1873	2 May 1958	anthropologist, folklorist, linguist	The Indian Tribes of North America, Emanuel Swedenborg, Prophet of the Higher Evolution
Ethel Turner	Australia	24 January 1870	8 April 1958	children's writer, novelist	Seven Little Australians
Ralph Vaughan Williams	United Kingdom	12 October 1872	26 August 1958	Composer	A London Symphony
Geoffrey Willans	United Kingdom	4 February 1911	6 August 1958	children's writer, humorist, novelist, screenwriter	Down with Skool! A Guide to School Life for Tiny Pupils and their Parents, Whizz for Atomms: A Guide to Survival in the 20th Century for Fellow Pupils, their Doting Maters, Pompous Paters and Any Others who are Interested

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
Karl Zuchardt	Germany	10 February 1887	12 November 1968	Novelist	Wie lange noch, Bonaparte?

Entering the public domain in Australia

See also: Copyright law of 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

See also: 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.

Worldwide

On January 24th 2019 it was announced that Nina Paley was placing her 2018 film Seder-Masochism in the public domain. ^[9]

On January 13th 2019, the Cleveland Museum of Art released 30,000 high quality digital images into the public domain. ^[10]

The European Commission announced it will start using a CC0-lisence to share published documents, including photos, videos, reports, peer-reviewed studies, and data. ^[11]

See also

• List of American films of 1923
• List of countries' copyright lengths
• Public Domain Day
• Creative Commons
• Public Domain
• Over 300 public domain authors available in Wikisource (any language), with descriptions from Wikidata
• 1948 in literature, 1958 in literature, 1968 in literature and 1978 in literature

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. 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. 14 March 2017. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
9. "PRESS RELEASE: Seder-Masochism to go Public Domain January 31, 2019". sedermasochism. 2 January 2019. Retrieved 2024-11-17.
10. Halperin, Jennie Rose. "CC0 at the Cleveland Museum of Art: 30,000 high quality digital images now available". creativecommons.org. Retrieved 27 September 2025.
11. Vollmer, Timothy. "European Commission adopts CC BY and CC0 for sharing information". creativecommons.org. Retrieved 27 September 2025.

External links

• 
   Media related to Public Domain Day 2019 at Wikimedia Commons
• "Authors by Year of Death – 1948". AuthorAndBookInfo.com.
• Popular Books of 1923 at Goodreads.