2027 in public domain

Last updated
Bertolt-Brecht.jpg
Jackson Pollock (cropped).jpg
Any work of Bertolt Brecht (left) that he authored alone will enter the public domain in Europe in 2027, along with the art of Jackson Pollock (right).

When a work's copyright expires, it enters the public domain. The following is a list of creators whose works enter the public domain in 2027. Since laws vary globally, the copyright status of some works are not uniform.

Contents

Entering the public domain in countries with life + 70 years

With the exception of Belarus (Life + 50 years) and Spain (which has a copyright term of Life + 80 years for creators that died before 1987), a work enters the public domain in Europe 70 years after the creator's death, if it was published during the creator's lifetime. For previously unpublished material, those who publish it first will have the publication rights for 25 years. In addition several other countries in the world have a limit of 70 years. The list is sorted alphabetically and includes a notable work of the creator.

NamesCountryBirthDeathOccupationNotable work
Pietro Badoglio Flag of Italy.svg Italy 28 September 18711 November 1956GeneralLa guerra d'Etiopia,
L'Italia nella seconda guerra mondiale
Julien Benda Flag of France.svg France 26 December 18677 June 1956Writer Bibliography
Émile Borel Flag of France.svg France 7 January 18713 February 1956MathematicianLes probabilités denombrables et leurs applications arithmétiques
Bertold Brecht Flag of Germany.svg Germany 10 February 189814 August 1956Playwright Mother Courage and Her Children
Pierre Brune  [ fr ]Flag of France.svg France 26 January 18871 June 1956Painter
Ezio Camussi  [ it ]Flag of Italy.svg Italy 16 January 187711 August 1956Composer Compositions
Francisco de Aquino Correia Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil 2 April 188522 March 1956Writer
Charles Fouqueray Flag of France.svg France 23 April 186928 March 1956Painter
Alexander Gretchaninov Flag of Russia.svg Russia 25 October 18643 January 1956Composer Selected works
Mohammed Hussein Heikal Flag of Egypt.svg Egypt 20 August 18888 December 1956Novelist Zeinab
Irène Joliot-Curie Flag of France.svg France 12 September 189717 March 1956Chemist
Aino Kallas Flag of Finland.svg Finland,
Flag of Estonia.svg Estonia
2 August 18789 November 1956WriterSudenmorsian, The Pastor of Reigi,
Barbara von Tisenhusen
Paul Léautaud Flag of France.svg France 18 January 187222 February 1956Writer Works
Lee Jung-seob Flag of South Korea.svg South Korea 10 April 19166 September 1956Painter Paintings
Guido Leto Flag of Italy.svg Italy 5 November 18951956Politician Publications
Évariste Lévi-Provençal Flag of France.svg France 4 January 189427 March 1956OrientalistHistoire de l'Espagne musulmane
A. A. Milne Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 18 January 188231 January 1956Writer Winnie-the-Pooh
Giovanni Papini Flag of Italy.svg Italy 9 January 18818 July 1956Writer Publications
Alex Raymond Flag of the United States.svg United States 2 October 19096 September 1956Writer Flash Gordon
Vida Ravenscroft Sutton Flag of the United States.svg United States 187827 July 1956PlaywrightThe Pilgrims' Holiday
Paul Renner Flag of Germany.svg Germany 9 August 187825 April 1956Designer Futura
Jackson Pollock Flag of the United States.svg United States 28 January 191211 August 1956Painter
Jacques Sadoul Flag of France.svg France 22 May 188118 November 1956Politician Works
Gustav Suits Flag of Estonia.svg Estonia 30 November 188323 May 1956Poet
Franz Tamayo Flag of Bolivia.svg Bolivia 28 February 187929 July 1956Writer, politician
Michael Ventris Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 12 July 19226 September 1956Classics scholar, philologistDocuments in Mycenaean Greek,
Introducing the Minoan Language

Countries with life + 60 years

In Bangladesh, India, and Venezuela a work enters the public domain 60 years after the creator's death.

NamesCountryBirthDeathOccupationNotable work
Ralph Allen Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada 25 August 19132 December 1966Writer, journalistPeace River Country
Lauro Ayestarán Flag of Uruguay.svg Uruguay 9 July 191322 July 1966MusicologistLa música en el Uruguay
André Breton Flag of France.svg France 19 February 189628 September 1966Writer, poet Surrealist Manifesto
Jan Brzechwa Flag of Poland.svg Poland 15 August 18982 July 1966Poet
Deems Taylor Flag of the United States.svg United States 22 December 18853 July 1966Composer, music critic
Walt Disney Flag of the United States.svg United States 5 December 190115 December 1966Filmmaker
C. S. Forester Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 27 August 18992 April 1966Writer Horatio Hornblower , The African Queen , The General
Lloyd Garrett Flag of the United States.svg United States 2 July 188615 April 1966Tenor, composer
Alberto Giacometti Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 10 October 190111 January 1966Sculptor, painter The Palace at 4 a.m. , L'Homme au doigt , Grande tête mince , L'Homme qui marche I , Large Standing Woman I , Monumental Head
Erik Lindberg Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden 31 December 187328 September 1966Sculptor, engraver Nobel Prize medal
César Batlle Pacheco Flag of Uruguay.svg Uruguay 3 August 18856 January 1966Politician, Journalist
Olhinto María Simoes Flag of Uruguay.svg Uruguay 5 June 19019 October 1966Poet, journalistLa sombra de los plátanos
Cordwainer Smith Flag of the United States.svg United States 11 July 19136 August 1966Science fiction writer, professor, military officerPsychological Warfare, Norstrilia , Scanners Live in Vain , Alpha Ralpha Boulevard , A Planet Named Shayol
Evelyn Waugh Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 28 October 190310 April 1966Writer Vile Bodies , A Handful of Dust
Mohamed Fawzi Flag of Egypt.svg Egypt 15 August 191820 October 1966Singer, Musician Kassaman
Mohamed El Qasabgi Flag of Egypt.svg Egypt 189225 March 1966MusicianRaq El Habib
Badie' Khayri Flag of Egypt.svg Egypt 17 August 18931 February 1966PlaywrightHassan wa Murqus wa Cohen
Sayyid Qutb Flag of Egypt.svg Egypt 9 October 190629 August 1966Writer Ma'alim fi al-Tariq , Fi Zilal al-Quran

Countries with life + 50 years

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

NamesCountryBirthDeathOccupationNotable work
Zainul Abedin Flag of Bangladesh.svg Bangladesh 29 December 191428 May 1976PainterFamine Sketches
Delia Bennett Flag of the United States.svg United States 18921976Quilter
Benjamin Britten Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 22 November 19134 December 1976Composer List of compositions by Benjamin Britten
Chen Hengzhe Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 29 July 18937 January 1976AuthorOne Day
Cheng Xiaoqing Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 2 June 189312 October 1976Author, translator Works
Agatha Christie Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 15 September 189012 January 1976Author Agatha Christie bibliography
Stuart Cloete Flag of South Africa.svg South Africa 23 July 189719 March 1976AuthorTurning Wheels
Kazuo Dan Flag of Japan.svg Japan 3 February 19122 January 1976Author House on Fire (novel)
Feng Xuefeng Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 2 June 190331 January 1976Author
Funahashi Seiichi Flag of Japan.svg Japan 25 December 190413 January 1976Author Portrait of Madame Yuki (novel)
Daniel F. Galouye Flag of the United States.svg United States 11 February 19207 September 1976SF Author Dark Universe
Vince Guaraldi Flag of the United States.svg United States 17 July 19286 February 1976Composer, musician"Linus and Lucy"
Guo Xiaochuan Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 2 September 191918 October 1976Poet
Han Sorya Flag of North Korea.svg North Korea 3 August 19006 April 1976AuthorJackals
Fritz Lang Flag of Austria.svg Austria
Flag of the United States.svg United States
5 December 18902 August 1976Film director, screenwriter, producer Fritz Lang filmography
Munro Leaf Flag of the United States.svg United States 4 December 190521 December 1976Author The Story of Ferdinand
Valero Lecha  [ es ]Flag of El Salvador.svg El Salvador 4 March 189420 August 1976PainterMercado al Aire Libre
Li Jinfa Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China
Flag of the United States.svg United States
21 November 190025 December 1976Poet, sculptor Poetry
Liao Chi-chun Flag of the Republic of China.svg Taiwan 4 January 190213 February 1976Painter
Lin Yutang Flag of the Republic of China.svg Taiwan 10 October 189526 March 1976Author, translator Works
Ma Ke Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 27 June 191827 July 1976Composer, musicologistMusic for Nanniwan
André Malraux Flag of France.svg France 3 November 190123 November 1976Author La Condition Humaine
Mao Zedong Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 26 December 18939 September 1976Politician Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung
Robert L. May Flag of the United States.svg United States 27 July 190511 August 1976Retailer Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Gildardo Montoya Flag of Colombia.svg Colombia 10 February 193925 November 1976Musician, songwriter"Plegaria Vallenata"
Ogiwara Seisensui Flag of Japan.svg Japan 16 June 188411 May 1976Author, poet
Edgar Pangborn Flag of the United States.svg United States 25 February 19091 February 1976SF Author A Mirror for Observers
Crescencio Salcedo Flag of Colombia.svg Colombia 27 August 19133 March 1976Flautist, songwriter"El Año Viejo", "La Múcura"
Mitsuko Shiga Flag of Japan.svg Japan 21 June 188523 March 1976Poet
Thomas Burnett Swann Flag of the United States.svg United States 12 October 19285 May 1976SF Author, poetThe Minotaur Trilogy
Mohamed El-Tabii Flag of Egypt.svg Egypt 18 May 189624 December 1976Journalist
Philip Taft Flag of the United States.svg United States 22 March 190217 November 1976Labor historian
Chōzaburō Tanaka Flag of Japan.svg Japan 3 November 188528 June 1976Botanist, mycologist
Max Tau Flag of Germany.svg Germany
Flag of Norway.svg Norway
19 January 189713 March 1976Writer, editor
Evert Taube Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden 12 March 189031 January 1976Songwriter, musician"Calle Schewens vals"
Mary S. Taylor Flag of the United States.svg United States 18851976BotanistA Study of Nardia Lescurii
Phoebe Atwood Taylor Flag of the United States.svg United States 18 May 19099 January 1976Writer The Cape Cod Mystery
Minerva Teichert Flag of the United States.svg United States 28 August 18883 May 1976PainterThe Madonna of 1847
Nazım Terzioğlu Flag of Turkey.svg Turkey 191220 September 1976Mathematician
Albert Tessier Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada 6 March 189513 September 1976Historian, film maker
T. H. Tetens Flag of Germany.svg Germany 19 February 1899February 1976Journalist, writerThe New Germany and the Old Nazis
Giorgos Themelis Flag of Greece.svg Greece 23 August 190017 April 1976Poet, essayist, playwrightDentrokipos
Hans Thirring Flag of Austria.svg Austria 23 March 188822 March 1976Physicist
Cecil Thomas Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 3 March 188516 September 1976Sculptor Bromhead Memorial
Epaminondas Thomopoulos Flag of Greece.svg Greece 18784 January 1976Painter
John Thompson Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada 17 March 193826 April 1976PoetStilt Jack
Ruth Plumly Thompson Flag of the United States.svg United States 27 July 18916 April 1976Writer The Royal Book of Oz
Adam Bruce Thomson Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland 22 February 18854 December 1976Painter
Bertha Tideman-Wijers Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands
Flag of Indonesia.svg Indonesia
8 January 18871 January 1976ComposerSmall Suite for Carillon
Ivo Tijardović Flag of Croatia.svg Croatia 18 September 189519 March 1976Composer, writer, painter Little Floramye
Mabel F. Timlin Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada 6 December 189119 September 1976Economist
Mark Tobey Flag of the United States.svg United States 11 December 189024 April 1976Painter
Barbara Euphan Todd Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 9 January 18982 February 1976Writer Worzel Gummidge
Guillermo Tolentino Flag of the Philippines.svg Philippines 24 July 189012 July 1976Sculptor Bonifacio Monument, UP Oblation
Sergey Tolstov Flag of Russia.svg Russia 7 February 190728 December 1976Archaeologist, ethnographerOld Khwarezm
Elihan Tore Flag of the Second East Turkestan Republic (2).svg East Turkestan Republic 21 March 188428 February 1976PoliticianTürkistan kaygısı
Torii Kotondo Flag of Japan.svg Japan 21 November 190013 July 1976Painter, woodblock printer
Ralph Townsend Flag of the United States.svg United States 27 November 190025 January 1976Writer, consul Ways That Are Dark
Willie Trice Flag of the United States.svg United States 10 February 190811 December 1976Songwriter, musician
Juan Manuel Trujillo Flag of Spain.svg Spain 19071976Essayist
Dalton Trumbo Flag of the United States.svg United States 9 December 190510 September 1976Screenwriter Spartacus screenplay
Pál Turán Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary 18 August 191026 September 1976Mathematician
Grace Turnbull Flag of the United States.svg United States 30 December 188026 December 1976Painter, sculptor, writerPython of India (sculpture)
George Tzavellas Flag of Greece.svg Greece 191618 October 1976Screenwriter, director The Counterfeit Coin
Stephen Ullmann Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary 31 July 191410 January 1976LinguistThe Principles of Semantics
Antoni Uniechowski Flag of Poland.svg Poland 23 February 190328 May 1976Illustrator
Annie Ure Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 31 January 189313 July 1976Archeologist Works
Francisco Urondo Flag of Argentina.svg Argentina 10 January 193017 June 1976Author Works
Peter Ury Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
Flag of Germany.svg Germany
3 November 192020 September 1976Composer, playwright, journalist Works
Alison Uttley Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 17 December 18847 May 1976Author Works
Valentin Vaala Flag of Finland.svg Finland 13 October 190921 November 1976Director, screenwriter Ihmiset suviyössä
Tamara Vakhvakhishvili Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soviet Union 23 December 189331 October 1976Composer Works
Diego Valeri Flag of Italy.svg Italy 25 January 188728 November 1976Poet, critic
Mall Valk Flag of Estonia.svg Estonia 2 June 193512 October 1976Ceramist Works
Adam Vetulani Flag of Poland.svg Poland 20 March 190125 September 1976Historian Works
Vi Huyền Đắc Flag of Vietnam.svg Vietnam 18 December 189916 August 1976Playwright
Renata Viganò Flag of Italy.svg Italy 17 June 190023 April 1976WriterL'Agnese va a morire
William G. Vinal Flag of the United States.svg United States 29 November 18819 July 1976Naturalist, educator
Nikolai Virta Flag of the Soviet Union.svg Soviet Union 19 December 19063 January 1976WriterOdinochestvo
Luchino Visconti Flag of Italy.svg Italy 2 November 190617 March 1976Director, screenwriter The Leopard
Mark Vishniak Flag of Russia.svg Russian Empire
Flag of the United States.svg United States
2 January 188331 August 1976WriterYears of Emigration, 1919–1969
André-Léon Vivrel Flag of France.svg France 8 October 18867 April 1976Painter, illustrator
Kathe Volkart-Schlager Flag of Austria.svg Austria 7 February 18971976Composer
Vladimir Vranić Flag of Croatia.svg Croatia 10 November 18963 August 1976MathematicianVjerojatnost i statistika
Clara Coltman Vyvyan Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia 18851 March 1976Travel writerOn Timeless Shores: Journeys in Ireland
Ernest Wallcousins Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 21 July 1882January 1976Illustrator, painterIllustrations for Myths and Legends of Babylonia and Assyria
Martha Walter Flag of the United States.svg United States 19 March 1875January 1976Impressionist painterMotherhood
Oliver Warner Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 28 February 190314 August 1976Naval historian, writer Works
Ned Washington Flag of the United States.svg United States 15 August 190120 December 1976LyricistLyrics to "When You Wish Upon a Star"
Mark Hanna Watkins Flag of the United States.svg United States 23 November 190324 February 1976Linguist, anthropologistA Grammar of Chichewa
Paul Weatherwax Flag of the United States.svg United States 4 April 188818 October 1976Botanist, botanical illustrator Works
David L. Webster Flag of the United States.svg United States 6 November 188817 December 1976Physicist Works
Isabelle Clark Percy West Flag of the United States.svg United States 6 November 188225 August 1976Painter, printmaker, designer
Judith Westphalen Flag of Peru.svg Peru 2 June 192231 December 1976Painter
Harvey Samuel Whistler Flag of the United States.svg United States 7 September 190717 March 1976Violinist, composer"Introducing the Positions for Violin"
Marjorie Whitaker Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 23 September 18957 January 1976Author Works
Minor White Flag of the United States.svg United States 9 July 190824 June 1976Photographer
Martin Wickramasinghe Flag of Sri Lanka.svg Sri Lanka 29 May 189023 July 1976Author Gamperaliya
Dorothy Wilding Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 10 January 18939 February 1976Photographer Portrait of Lady Angela Forbes
Clifton Williams Flag of the United States.svg United States 26 March 192312 February 1976Composer Works
Clara McDonald Williamson Flag of the United States.svg United States 20 November 187517 February 1976PainterGit 'Long Little Dogies
Cherry Wilson Flag of the United States.svg United States 12 July 1893November 1976NovelistThunder Breaks
Fritz Winter Flag of Germany.svg Germany 22 September 19051 October 1976Painter Earthbound
Józef Wittlin Flag of the United States.svg United States 17 August 189628 February 1976Novelist, poet, translatorSalt of the Earth
Marcel Wolfers Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium 18861976Sculptor, medallistMonument aux morts de la guerre, Louvain
Wilfrid Wood Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1 December 188818 February 1976Engraver, watercolouristBy Underground to Kew
James Woodford Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 25 September 18938 November 1976SculptorRobin hood statue outside Nottingham Castle
Ellamarie Woolley Flag of the United States.svg United States 19131976Enamel artist, muralistWomen with Birds
Marjorie Muir Worthington Flag of the United States.svg United States 190017 February 1976Writer
Arthur Wragg Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 3 January 190317 August 1976IllustratorIllustrations for The Psalms for Modern Life
Arthur F. Wright Flag of the United States.svg United States 3 December 191311 August 1976HistorianThe Sui Dynasty
Horace Kenton Wright Flag of the Bahamas.svg Bahamas 21 February 191514 November 1976Artist
Margaret Wrightson Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 18771976Sculptor Works
Wu Chuo-liu Flag of the Republic of China.svg Taiwan 2 June 19007 October 1976Author Orphan of Asia
Satyu Yamaguti Flag of Japan.svg Japan 21 April 189411 March 1976ParasitologistSynopsis of digenetic trematodes of vertebrates
Akio Yashiro Flag of Japan.svg Japan 29 September 19299 April 1976Composer Piano Concerto (Yashiro)
Yashpal Flag of India.svg India 3 December 190326 December 1976Writer Jhutha Sach
Yirawala Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia 189717 April 1976Artist
Mihal Zallari Flag of Albania.svg Albania 25 September 189417 March 1976Historian, journalist, poet
Joaquín Zamacois Flag of Chile.svg Chile 14 December 18948 September 1976Composer, author
Zheng Lücheng Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 27 August 19147 December 1976ComposerMusic for the Military Anthem of the People's Liberation Army
Zhou Enlai Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 5 March 18988 January 1976Politician
Zhu De Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg China 1 December 18866 July 1976Politician
Anna Zinkeisen Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 29 August 190123 September 1976ArtistPortrait of Archibald McIndoe
Khayr al-Dīn al-Ziriklī Flag of Syria (2025-).svg Syria 25 June 189325 November 1976Poet, biographer al-Aʻlām
Adolph Zukor Flag of the United States.svg United States 7 January 187310 June 1976Filmmaker
Jacek Żuławski Flag of Poland.svg Poland 29 March 190727 November 1976Sculptor
Alberto Zum Felde Flag of Uruguay.svg Uruguay 30 May 18896 May 1976Historian, essayist

Countries with life + 80 years

Spain has a copyright term of life + 80 years for creators that died before 1987. In Colombia and Equatorial Guinea, a work enters the public domain 80 years after the creator's death.

NamesCountryBirthDeathOccupationNotable work
Giuseppe Adami Flag of Italy.svg Italy 4 February 187812 October 1946librettistLibretti for three operas composed by Giacomo Puccini
Eriks Ādamsons Flag of Latvia.svg Latvia 22 June 190728 February 1946writer, poet, translator
Armando Augusto Freire (Armandinho) Flag of Portugal (official).svg Portugal 11 October 189121 December 1946 Fado guitarist and composer
Louis Bachelier Flag of France.svg France 11 March 187028 April 1946Mathematician
Herbert Baker Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 9 June 18624 February 1946Architect
Helen Bannerman Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 25 February 18623 October 1946Writer The Story of Little Black Sambo
Granville Bantock Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 7 August 186816 October 1946composer
James Bernard Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 11 April 18745 March 1946Elocutionist
Allan Cyril Brooks Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada 15 February 18693 January 1946Ornithologist, illustrator and artist
Alfonso Broqua  [ es ]Flag of Uruguay.svg Uruguay 15 February 186924 November 1946Composer
Charles Despiau Flag of France.svg France 4 November 187430 October 1946Sculptor
J. Michael Diack Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 26 June 18692 February 1946Composer, arrangerArranged nursery rhymes in the style of Handel
Manuel de Falla Flag of Spain.svg Spain 23 November 187614 November 1946Composer Nights in the Gardens of Spain , Ritual Fire Dance
W. C. Fields Flag of the United States.svg United States 29 January 188025 December 1946Writer
Jane Findlater Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 4 November 186620 May 1946Writer
Dion Fortune Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 6 December 18906 January 1946Writer and occultistThe Demon Lover, The Winged Bull, The Goat-Foot God, The Sea Priestess
Wanda Gág Flag of the United States.svg United States 11 March 189327 June 1946Children's book author, artist, translator and illustrator Millions of Cats
Gerhart Hauptmann Flag of Germany.svg Germany 15 November 18626 June 1946Writer, Nobel Prize laureate The Weavers , Bahnwärter Thiel (De)
Patty Hill Flag of the United States.svg United States 27 March 186825 May 1946Songwriter Happy Birthday to You (with sister Mildred J. Hill, who predeceased her)
Violet Jacob Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 1 September 18639 September 1946Writer and poet
John Maynard Keynes Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 5 June 188321 April 1946Economist A Treatise on Money
Hermann von Keyserling Flag of Germany.svg Germany 20 July 188026 April 1946Philosopher
Otis Adelbert Kline Flag of the United States.svg United States 1 July 189124 October 1946Literary agent and science fiction writer
Paul Langevin Flag of France.svg France 21 January 187219 December 1946Physicist
Henri Le Fauconnier Flag of France.svg France 18811946Painter
Józef Mehoffer Flag of Poland.svg Poland 19 March 18698 July 1946Painter and decorative artist
Adolph de Meyer Flag of France.svg France 9 January 18686 January 1946Photographer
László Moholy-Nagy Flag of Hungary.svg Hungary 20 July 189524 November 1946Painter and photographerLight-Space Modulator
Paul Nash Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 11 May 188911 July 1946Painter/photographer
Mikhail Nesterov Flag of Russia.svg Russia 31 May 186218 October 1942 [1] Painter
Feliks Nowowiejski Flag of Poland.svg Poland 7 February 187718 January 1946Composer Rota (music)
Clemente Palma Flag of Peru.svg Peru 3 December 187213 August 1946Author
Júlio Prestes Flag of Brazil.svg Brazil 15 March 18829 February 1946Politician
Damon Runyon Flag of the United States.svg United States 4 October 188010 December 1946Writer and newspaperman
Abel Salazar Flag of Portugal (official).svg Portugal 19 July 188929 December 1946Scientist and Painter
Alice Sauvrezis Flag of France.svg France 4 April 186612 April 1946Composer
Ernest Thompson Seton Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 14 August 186023 October 1946Writer and wildlife artist Wild Animals I Have Known
May Sinclair Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 24 August 186314 November 1946Writer
Václav Špála Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czech Republic 24 August 188513 May 1946Painter
Léon Spilliaert Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium 28 July 188123 November 1946Painter
Gertrude Stein Flag of the United States.svg United States 3 February 187427 July 1946Writer The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas , Three Lives
Karl Hans Strobl Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Czech Republic 18 January 187710 March 1946Author and editor
Harry Von Tilzer Flag of the United States.svg United States 8 July 187210 January 1946Songwriter Ziegfeld Follies
Frona Eunice Wait Flag of the United States.svg United States 19 August 18591946Author and newspaper writerWines and Vines of California
George Henry Weiss Flag of the United States.svg United States 18981946Writer of science fiction and poetry The Night People
H. G. Wells Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom 21 September 186613 August 1946Writer The Time Machine , The War of the Worlds , The Invisible Man
Stewart Edward White Flag of the United States.svg United States 12 March 187318 September 1946Writer and spiritualist
Alfred Rosenberg Flag of Germany.svg Germany 12 January 189316 October 1946Politician, writer The Myth of the Twentieth Century
Paul Zech Flag of Germany.svg Germany 19 February 18817 September 1946Poet Die lasterhaften Balladen und Lieder des François Villon
Heinrich Freiherr von Stackelberg Flag of Germany.svg Germany 31 October 190512 October 1946EconomistMarktform und Gleichgewicht

United States

Frankenstein (1931 teaser poster - Style B).jpg
Dracula (1931 film poster - Style F).jpg
Notable works entering the public domain in the United States in 2027 include Universal Pictures' Frankenstein and Dracula films

Under the Copyright Term Extension Act, books published in 1931, films released in 1931, and other works published in 1931, will enter the public domain in 2027 if they were made for hire as defined in American copyright law. [2] [3] [4] Sound recordings that were published in 1926 and unpublished works whose authors died in 1956 will also enter the public domain. [2] The Disney animated short The Moose Hunt , featuring Pluto in his first appearance under his familiar name and as Mickey Mouse's dog; as well as Universal Pictures' Frankenstein and Dracula , starring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi in their respective title roles; will be among the works to enter the public domain. In addition, the character Betty Boop's first cartoons under her familiar portrayal as a human will enter the public domain.

Other significant films entering the public domain include Rouben Mamoulian's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (the first horror film to win an Academy Award), Charlie Chaplin's City Lights , the 1931 Best Picture Oscar-winner Cimarron , the Gangster films Little Caesar and The Public Enemy , the Marx Brothers film Monkey Business , Laurel and Hardy's first feature film Pardon Us , Fritz Lang's serial killer drama M , Josef von Sternberg's Dishonored starring Marlene Dietrich, Michael Powell's directorial debut Two Crowded Hours , Otto Preminger's directorial debut The Great Love , F. W. Murnau's final film Tabu: A Story of the South Seas , the John Ford films Arrowsmith and The Brat , the Alfred Hitchcock films The Skin Game , Mary and Rich and Strange , G. W. Pabst's The Threepenny Opera , Mário Peixoto's Limite , Dave Fleischer's Bimbo's Initiation , the first Canadian sound film The Viking , the first Soviet sound film Road to Life , the first Japanese sound film The Neighbor's Wife and Mine and the first Bollywood-musical Alam Ara (now believed lost).

Artworks entering the public domain include Salvador Dali's painting The Persistence of Memory , Georgia O'Keeffe's painting Cow's Skull: Red, White, and Blue , Grant Wood's painting The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere , Thomas Hart Benton's painting America Today , Paul Landowski's sculpture Christ the Redeemer, Pablo Picasso's sculpture Bust of a Woman (Marie-Thérèse) , Man Ray's Électricité -photo series, August Sander's photograph Secretary at West German Radio, Cologne and M.C. Escher's early print Atrani, Coast of Amalfi .

Important literary works entering the public domain include Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth , Virginia Woolf's novel The Waves , Lynn Riggs' play Green Grows the Lilacs , Erich Maria Remarque's novel The Road Back , James Hanley's novel Boy , the final volume of Winston Churchill's The World Crisis , Walter B. Gibson's pulp novel The Living Shadow introducing The Shadow, Georges Simenon's novel The Strange Case of Peter the Lett (containing the first introduction of Inspector Jules Maigret) in its original French, the original album version of Hergé's Tintin in the Congo and the first serialized installments of Tintin in America , and Jean de Brunhoff's The Story of Babar in its original French. The first volumes of Norakuro , one of the earliest Shonen manga series, will also become public domain in the United States in 2027 in its original Japanese.

Among the better-known songs entering the public domain are "Dream a Little Dream of Me", "As Time Goes By", "Minnie the Moocher", "Which Side Are You On?", "All of Me", and "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?".

See also

References

  1. Copyright term in Russia is extended by 4 years for authors who fought in or worked during the 1941-1945 war.
  2. 1 2 Hirtle, Peter B. (3 January 2020). "Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States". Cornell University Library Copyright Information Center. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  3. "Copyright Basics" (PDF). copyright.gov. Copyright Office. Retrieved 2 February 2025.
  4. "Copyright and the Public Domain". Public Domain Information Project. Archived from the original on 2014-08-01.