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When a work's copyright expires, it enters the public domain. Since laws vary globally, the copyright status of some works are not uniform. The following is a list of creators whose works enter the public domain in 2036 under the most common copyright regimes.
Except for Belarus (Life + 50 years) [1] and Spain (which has a copyright term of Life + 80 years for creators that died before 1988), a work enters the public domain in Europe 70 years after the creator's death, if it was published during the creator's lifetime. [2] [3] In addition, several other countries have a limit of 70 years. The list is sorted alphabetically and includes a notable work of the creator.
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.
Spain has a copyright term of life + 80 years for creators that died before 1988. [4] In Colombia and Equatorial Guinea, a work enters the public domain 80 years after the creator's death.
Under the Copyright Term Extension Act, books published in 1940, films released in 1940, and other works published in 1940 will enter the public domain in 2036. [5] Sound recordings published in 1935 and unpublished works whose authors died in 1965 will also enter the public domain.
Notable live-action films entering the public domain in 2036 include Alfred Hitchcock's Best Picture Academy Award-winning film Rebecca starring Laurence Olivier, John Ford's adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath with Henry Fonda, George Cukor's The Philadelphia Story with Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, Kitty Foyle starring Ginger Rogers, William Wyler's The Westerner with Gary Cooper, Arise, My Love starring Claudette Colbert, Walter Lang's musical film Tin Pan Alley , Jack Conway's Boom Town with Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy, Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator , Cecil B. DeMille's North West Mounted Police , Busby Berkeley's Strike Up the Band with Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, and Abbott and Costello's first film One Night in the Tropics . Significant animated films entering the public domain this year include Walt Disney's Pinocchio and Fantasia , A Wild Hare which marked the debut of Bugs Bunny, the first Tom and Jerry cartoon Puss Gets the Boot (with the characters under their initial identities as "Jasper and Jinx"), Knock Knock with the debut of Woody Woodpecker, the Porky Pig cartoon You Ought to Be in Pictures , and the Donald Duck cartoon Mr. Duck Steps Out , the entry of which will bring along the character Daisy Duck, the last member of Disney's "Sensational Six" to become public domain.
Among the literary works entering the public domain in 2036 are Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot mystery novel Sad Cypress , Carson McCullers' novel The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter , Raymond Chandler's Farewell, My Lovely , Ernest Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls , and Dr. Seuss's Horton Hatches the Egg introducing its titular elephant character. The earliest appearances of DC Comics' characters Robin, The Joker, The Flash, and the Green Lantern will also enter the public domain in 2036, along with Will Eisner's character The Spirit.
Popular songs entering the public domain include "I'll Never Smile Again", "Only Forever", and "Tuxedo Junction"; also, the entry of Pinocchio will bring with it the song "When You Wish Upon a Star", the corporate anthem of Disney's company.