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Union 70 years after the creator's death, if it was published during the creator's lifetime.[1][2] For previously unpublished material, those who publish it first will have the publication rights for 25 years.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 | 1888 | 1948 | Author | With the Turks in Palestine | |
Sabahattin Ali | 25 February 1907 | 2 April 1948 | Novelist | §Works | |
Francisco Alonso | 9 May 1887 | 18 May 1948 | Composer | Las Leandras | |
Antonin Artaud | 4 September 1896 | 4 March 1948 | Dramatist | §Works | |
Kan'ichi Asakawa | 20 December 1873 | 10 August 1948 | Historian | The Russo-Japanese Conflict: Its Causes and Issues | |
Gertrude Atherton | 30 October 1857 | 14 June 1948 | Novelist | §Works | |
Jatindramohan Bagchi | 27 November 1878 | 1 February 1948 | Poet | ||
Milan Begović | 19 January 1876 | 13 May 1948 | Writer | Pustolov pred vratima | |
Hulusi Behçet | 20 February 1889 | 8 March 1948 | Physician | Clinical and Practical Syphilis, Diagnosis and Related Dermatoses | |
Ruth Benedict | 5 June 1887 | 17 September 1948 | Anthropologist | The Chrysanthemum and the Sword | |
Frank Benford | 29 May 1883 | 4 December 1948 | Physicist | The law of anomalous numbers | |
Gertrude Barrows Bennett | 18 July 1884 | 2 February 1948 | Writer of science fiction and fantasy | The Citadel of Fear, The Heads of Cerberus, Claimed | |
Nikolai Berdyaev | 18 March 1874 | 24 March 1948 | Philosopher | §Works | |
Folke Bernadotte | 2 January 1895 | 17 September 1948 | Diplomat, nobleman | §Works | |
Georges Bernanos | 20 February 1888 | 5 July 1948 | Writer | The Diary of a Country Priest | |
Hendrik van der Bijl | 23 November 1887 | 2 December 1948 | Engineer | Theory and Operating Characteristics of the Thermionic Amplifier | |
Nasib al-Bitar | 13 June 1890 | 26 June 1948 | Jurist | Al-Fareeda Fi Hisab Al-Fareedhah | |
André Bloch | 20 November 1893 | 11 October 1948 | Mathematician | La conception actuelle de la theorie des fonctions entieres et meromorphes | |
Joseph Friedrich Nicolaus Bornmüller | 6 February 1862 | 19 December 1948 | Botanist | Beiträge zur Flora Mazedoniens | |
Gordon Bottomley | 20 February 1874 | 25 August 1948 | Poet, Playwright | The Crier By Night | |
Harry Brearley | 18 February 1871 | 14 July 1948 | Metallurgist | Knotted String | |
Sophonisba Breckinridge | 1 April 1866 | 30 July 1948 | Economist, social scientist | Marriage and the Civic Rights of Women | |
Robert Briffault | 1876 | 11 December 1948 | Anthropologist, Novelist | The Mothers: A Study of the Origins of Sentiments and Institutions | |
Abraham Brill | 12 October 1874 | 2 March 1948 | Psychiatrist | Psychoanalysis: Its Theories and Practical Application | |
Alice Brown | 5 December 1857 | 21 June 1948 | Writer | §Works | |
Subhadra Kumari Chauhan | 16 August 1904 | 15 February 1948 | Poet | Jhansi Ki Rani | |
Hiram Alfred Cody | 3 July 1872 | 9 February 1948 | Writer, Clergyman | The Frontiersman: A Tale of the Yukon | |
Umberto Coromaldi | 21 September 1870 | 5 October 1948 | Painter | Happy Mother | |
Osamu Dazai | 19 June 1909 | 13 June 1948 | Author | The Setting Sun, No Longer Human | |
Mary Angela Dickens | 31 October 1862 | 7 February 1948 | Writer | Cross Currents | |
Dildar | 20 February 1918 | 12 October 1948 | Poet | Ey Reqîb | |
Janus Djurhuus | 26 February 1881 | 1 September 1948 | Poet | ||
Rheta Childe Dorr | 2 November 1866 | 8 August 1948 | Journalist, Suffragist | What Eight Million Women Want | |
O. Douglas | 24 March 1877 | 24 November 1948 | Author | Olivia in India | |
Sergei Eisenstein | 22 January 1898 | 11 February 1948 | Film Director | Battleship Potemkin | |
Pompeu Fabra | 20 February 1868 | 25 December 1948 | Grammarian | Diccionari General de la Llengua Catalana | |
Ferdinand I of Bulgaria | 26 February 1861 | 10 September 1948 | King of Bulgaria (1887-1918), author, botanist, entomologist | ||
Jacques Feyder | 21 July 1885 | 24 May 1948 | Film Director, screenwriter, | Crainquebille | |
Zelda Fitzgerald | 24 July 1900 | 10 March 1948 | Novelist | Save Me the Waltz | |
Gustaf Fjæstad | 22 December 1868 | 17 July 1948 | Artist | ||
Karl Gebhardt | 23 November 1897 | 2 June 1948 | Doctor | Chirurgische krankengymnastik | |
Umberto Giordano | 28 August 1867 | 12 November 1948 | Composer | Andrea Chénier | |
Susan Glaspell | 1 July 1876 | 28 July 1948 | Playwright, novelist | Trifles | |
Arshile Gorky | 15 April 1904 | 21 July 1948 | Painter | The Liver is the Cock's Comb | |
D. W. Griffith | 22 January 1875 | 23 July 1948 | Film director, producer | The Birth of a Nation, Broken Blossoms | |
Alexander Alfonsovich Grossheim | 6 March 1888 | 4 December 1948 | Botanist | ||
Frederick Philip Grove | 14 February 1879 | 9 September 1948 | Writer, Translator | Settlers of the Marsh | |
Uzeyir Hajibeyov | 18 September 1885 | 23 November 1948 | Composer | Leyli and Majnun | |
Ernest George Henham | 14 December 1870 | 3 April 1948 | Writer | Furze the Cruel | |
Ernst Herzfeld | 23 July 1879 | 21 January 1948 | Archaeologist | Die Ausgrabungen von Samarra | |
Johan Hjort | 18 February 1869 | 7 October 1948 | Marine Biologist | The Depths of the Ocean | |
Seth Hoffman | 8 September 1895 | 2 August 1948 | Artist | ||
Vicente Huidobro | 10 January 1893 | 2 January 1948 | Poet | Altazor o el viaje en paracaídas | |
Victor Ido | 8 February 1869 | 20 May 1948 | Writer, Journalist | De paupers | |
William Henry Irwin | 14 September 1873 | 24 February 1948 | Journalist, Writer | The House That Shadows Built | |
Susan Sutherland Isaacs | 24 May 1885 | 12 October 1948 | Psychologist | Intellectual Growth in Young Children | |
Hédi Khayachi | 1882 | 1948 | Painter | ||
Kan Kikuchi | 26 December 1888 | 6 March 1948 | Novelist | Tōjūrō no Koi | |
Egon Kisch | 29 April 1885 | 31 March 1948 | Journalist, writer | Schreib das auf, Kisch! | |
August Köhler | 4 March 1866 | 12 March 1948 | Physicist | Gedanken zu einem neuen Beleuchtungsverfahren für mikrophotographische Zwecke | |
Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein | 24 April 1870 | 16 October 1948 | General | Mit dem Turken zum Suezkanal | |
Nikolai Yakovlevich Kuznetsov | 23 May 1873 | 8 April 1948 | Entomologist | The Eurasian Arctic Fauna and Its Origin | |
Franz Lehár | 30 April 1870 | 24 October 1948 | Composer | List of operas and operettas | |
Rudolf Franz Lehnert | 13 July 1878 | 16 January 1948 | Photographer | ||
Maximilian Lenz | 4 October 1860 | 19 May 1948 | Artist | A World, A Song of Spring | |
Monteiro Lobato | 18 April 1882 | 4 July 1948 | Novelist, Publisher | Sítio do Picapau Amarelo (novel series) | |
Ross Lockridge Jr. | 25 April 1914 | 6 March 1948 | Novelist | Raintree County | |
Emil Ludwig | 25 January 1881 | 17 September 1948 | Biographer | Bismarck | |
Edith Balfour Lyttelton | 4 April 1865 | 2 September 1948 | Writer, spiritualist | ||
Nikola Marinov | 10 July 1879 | 16 December 1948 | Painter | ||
Jan Masaryk | 14 September 1886 | 10 March 1948 | Politician | Speaking to My Country | |
Ilya Mashkov | 29 July 1881 | 20 March 1944 | Painter | ||
A. E. W. Mason | 7 May 1865 | 22 November 1948 | Author, Politician | The Four Feathers | |
Gerardo Matos Rodríguez | 28 March 1897 | 25 April 1948 | Composer | La cumparsita | |
Claude McKay | 15 September 1889 | 22 May 1948 | Writer | §Works | |
Ernest Merritt | 28 April 1865 | 5 June 1948 | Physicist, Educator | ||
Harry A. Millis | 14 April 1873 | 25 June 1948 | Economist | ||
Wesley Clair Mitchell | 5 August 1874 | 29 October 1948 | Economist | The Role of Money in Economic Theory | |
Thomas Mofolo | 22 December 1876 | 8 September 1948 | Writer | Chaka | |
Prosper Montagné | 14 November 1865 | 22 April 1948 | Chef, Gastronome | Larousse Gastronomique | |
Sylvanus Morley | 7 June 1883 | 2 September 1948 | Archeologist | The Ancient Maya | |
Baldassarre Negroni | 21 January 1877 | 18 July 1948 | Film director | The Courier of Moncenisio | |
Fred Niblo | 6 January 1877 | 7 November 1948 | Film Director, Actor | Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ | |
Alan Odle | 1888 | 1948 | Illustrator | ||
Edith Olivier | 31 December 1872 | 10 May 1948 | Writer | Alexander the Corrector: The Eccentric Life of Alexander Cruden | |
Conal Holmes O'Connell O'Riordan | 29 April 1874 | 18 June 1948 | Dramatist, novelist | Adam of Dublin | |
Margaret Pedler | 1877 | 28 December 1948 | Romance Author | Barbarian Lover | |
John J. Pershing | 19 March 1860 | 15 July 1948 | General | My Experiences In The World War | |
Albert Pollard | 16 December 1869 | 3 August 1948 | Historian | The Evolution of Parliament | |
Manuel Ponce | 8 December 1882 | 24 April 1948 | Composer | Estrellita | |
Abram Ranovich | 15 December 1885 | 29 May 1948 | Historian | On Early Christianity | |
Charles Herbert Reilly | 4 March 1874 | 2 February 1948 | Architect | Representative British Architects of the Present Day | |
Charles Grant Robertson | 1869 | 29 February 1948 | Historian, Novelist | England under the Hanoverians | |
J.-H. Rosny jeune | 21 July 1859 | 21 July 1948 | Writer | ||
Sultanzade Sabahaddin | 13 February 1879 | 30 June 1948 | Sociologist | The Witness | |
Husain Salaahuddin | 14 April 1881 | 20 September 1948 | Writer | The Story of Thakurufaan the Great | |
Maria Olga de Moraes Sarmento da Silveira | 26 May 1881 | 17 October 1948 | Writer, feminist | Problema Feminista | |
Kurt Schwitters | 20 June 1887 | 8 January 1948 | Artist | Das Undbild | |
Antonin Sertillanges | 16 November 1863 | 26 July 1948 | Priest, Author | What Jesus Saw from the Cross | |
Lamed Shapiro | 10 March 1878 | 1948 | Author | Di yidishe melukhe un andere zakhn | |
D. D. Sheehan | 28 May 1873 | 28 November 1948 | Politician, author | Ireland since Parnell | |
David Shterenberg | 26 July 1881 | 1 May 1948 | Painter and graphic artist | §Works | |
Charles Silvestre | 2 February 1889 | 31 March 1948 | Novelist | §Works | |
Annie M. P. Smithson | 26 September 1873 | 21 February 1948 | Author, nurse. | The Walk of a Queen | |
Marjory Stephenson | 24 January 1885 | 12 December 1948 | Biochemist | ||
Montague Summers | 10 April 1880 | 10 August 1948 | Author and clergyman | Malleus Maleficarum | |
Alexander du Toit | 14 March 1878 | 25 February 1948 | Geologist | Our Wandering Continents; An Hypothesis of Continental Drifting | |
Richard C. Tolman | 4 March 1881 | 5 September 1948 | Physicist | The Principles of Statistical Mechanics | |
Karl Valentin | 4 June 1882 | 9 February 1948 | Comedian | §Works | |
José Vianna da Motta | 22 April 1868 | 1 June 1948 | Pianist, Composer | §Works | |
Franco Vittadini | 9 April 1884 | 30 November 1948 | Composer | Anima Allegra | |
Augusto Weberbauer | 26 November 1871 | 16 January 1948 | Botanist | Die Pflanzenwelt der peruanischen Anden in ihren Grundzügen | |
Paul Wegener | 11 December 1874 | 13 September 1948 | Film Director, Screenwriter | The Student of Prague | |
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari | 12 January 1876 | 21 January 1948 | Composer | Il segreto di Susanna | |
George MacKinnon Wrong | 25 June 1860 | 29 June 1948 | Historian | The Conquest of New France | |
Muhammad Amin Zaki | 1880 | 1948 | Historian | A Short History of the Kurds and Kurdistan | |
Andrei Zhdanov | 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 | 8 January 1904 | 22 February 1968 | Cartoonist | ||
Karl Barth | 10 May 1886 | 10 December 1968 | Theologian | Church Dogmatics | |
Enid Blyton | 11 August 1897 | 28 November 1968 | Writer | The Famous Five, The Secret Seven | |
Hugo Butler | 4 May 1914 | 7 January 1968 | Screenwriter | Lassie Come Home | |
Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco | 3 April 1895 | 16 March 1968 | Composer | Les Guitares bien tempérées | |
Juan José Castro | 7 March 1895 | 3 September 1968 | Composer | ||
Randolph Churchill | 28 May 1911 | 6 June 1968 | Journalist, Politician | Lord Derby: King of Lancashire | |
Carmelo de Arzadun | 16 July 1888 | 16 October 1968 | Painter | ||
Kees van Dongen | 26 January 1877 | 28 May 1968 | Painter | Woman with Large Hat | |
Carl Theodor Dreyer | 3 February 1889 | 20 March 1968 | Film Director | Michael | |
Marcel Duchamp | 28 July 1887 | 2 October 1968 | Artist, Writer | Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2, Fountain | |
Margaret Duley | 27 September 1894 | 22 March 1968 | Novelist | §Works | |
Edna Ferber | 15 August 1885 | 15 April 1968 | Novelist, playwright | So Big, Show Boat | |
Red Foley | 17 June 1910 | 19 September 1968 | Singer-songwriter | Old Shep | |
Lucio Fontana | 19 February 1899 | 7 September 1968 | Painter, Sculptor | ||
Ruth France | 12 June 1913 | 19 August 1968 | Librarian, Poet, Novelist | The Race | |
George Gamow | 4 March 1904 | 19 August 1968 | Physicist, Science writer | One Two Three... Infinity and Mr. Tompkins series | |
Alice Guy-Blaché | 1 July 1873 | 24 March 1968 | Filmmaker, screenwriter | La Fée aux Choux | |
Otto Hahn | 8 March 1879 | 28 July 1968 | Chemist | Applied Radiochemistry | |
John Heartfield | 19 June 1891 | 26 April 1968 | Artist | ||
Fannie Hurst | 19 October 1885 | 23 February 1968 | Novelist | Imitation of Life, Lummox | |
W. E. Johns | 5 February 1893 | 21 June 1968 | Writer, aviator | The Biggles series | |
Helen Keller | 27 June 1880 | 1 June 1968 | Author, Activist | The Story of My Life | |
Robert F. Kennedy | 20 November 1925 | 6 June 1968 | Politician, Lawyer, Author | The Enemy Within | |
Martin Luther King Jr. | 15 January 1929 | 4 April 1968 | Civil Rights leader, minister | Why We Can't Wait | |
Robert Z. Leonard | 7 October 1889 | 27 August 1968 | Film Director, screenwriter | The Great Ziegfeld | |
Albert Lewin | 23 September 1894 | 9 May 1968 | Director, Screenwriter | The Picture of Dorian Gray | |
Trygve Lie | 16 July 1896 | 30 December 1968 | Politician, author | In the Cause of Peace: Seven Years With The United Nations | |
Howard Lindsay | 29 March 1889 | 11 February 1968 | Playwright, librettist | State of the Union | |
Little Walter | 1 May 1930 | 15 February 1968 | Blues Musician | Juke | |
Dorothea Mackellar | 1 July 1885 | 14 January 1968 | Poet | My Country | |
Archie Mayo | 29 January 1891 | 4 December 1968 | Film director, actor | Night After Night | |
Ramón Menéndez Pidal | 13 March 1869 | 14 November 1968 | Historian | La España del Cid | |
Thomas Merton | 31 January 1915 | 10 December 1968 | Monk, Author | The Seven Storey Mountain | |
José Monegal | 25 July 1892 | 4 November 1968 | Writer, Journalist | Memorias de Juan Pedro Camargo | |
Wes Montgomery | 6 March 1923 | 15 June 1968 | Jazz guitarist | The Incredible Jazz Guitar of Wes Montgomery | |
Elsie K. Morton | 5 October 1885 | 21 August 1968 | Journalist, Writer | Along the Road: a book of New Zealand life and travel | |
Walter Nash | 12 February 1882 | 4 June 1968 | Politician | New Zealand: a working democracy | |
Edwin O'Connor | 29 July 1918 | 23 March 1968 | Novelist, journalist | The Last Hurrah, The Edge of Sadness | |
Erwin Panofsky | 30 March 1892 | 14 March 1968 | Art Historian | Early Netherlandish Painting | |
Mervyn Peake | 9 July 1911 | 17 November 1968 | Writer | Gormenghast Trilogy | |
Salvatore Quasimodo | 20 August 1901 | 14 June 1968 | Writer | Giorno dopo giorno | |
Herbert Read | 4 December 1893 | 12 June 1968 | Art Historian | To Hell With Culture | |
Conrad Richter | 13 October 1890 | 30 October 1968 | Novelist | The Town | |
Upton Sinclair | 20 September 1878 | 25 November 1968 | Writer | The Jungle | |
John Steinbeck | 27 February 1902 | 20 December 1968 | Novelist | Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath | |
Tian Han | 12 March 1898 | 10 December 1968 | Playwright | Xie Yaohuan | |
Rose Wilder Lane | 5 December 1886 | 30 October 1968 | Writer, Political Theorist | The Discovery of Freedom | |
Clare Winger Harris | 18 January 1891 | October 1968 | Writer | Away From the Here and Now | |
Justino Zavala Muniz | 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 will enter the public domain on January 1, 2020, 1925 works in 2021, and so forth.
No United States audio recordings will enter 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 will enter 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
- "EU Extends Copyright Term To 70 Years | Billboard". Billboard.biz. 2011-09-12. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
- "EUR-Lex - 32006L0116 - EN - EUR-Lex". eur-lex.europa.eu. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
- "Article 1281 of Civil Code". Consultant.ru. Retrieved 2012-06-08.
- "New copyright duration changes coming". Australian Government-Department of Communications & The Arts. 2018-04-23. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
- Fleishman, Glenn (8 April 2018). "A Landslide of Classic Art Is About to Enter the Public Domain". The Atlantic. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
- "Copyright and the Public Domain". Public Domain Information Project. Archived from the original on 2014-08-01. Retrieved 2015-12-13.
- "Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States | Copyright Information Center". copyright.cornell.edu. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
- "Copyright Renewals". Spotlight at Stanford. Retrieved 2018-04-25.
External links
Media related to Undeleted in 2019 at Wikimedia Commons - "Authors by Year of Death - 1948". AuthorAndBookInfo.com.
- Popular Books of 1923 at Goodreads.