When a work's copyright expires, it enters the public domain. The following is a list of works that entered the public domain in 2016. Since laws vary globally, the copyright status of some works are not uniform.
Authors entering the public domain
Authors entering the public domain 70 years after death
With the exception of Belarus and Spain, a work enters the public domain in Europe and Brazil 70 years after the creator's death, if it was published during the creator's lifetime. The list is sorted alphabetically and includes a notable work of the creator that entered the public domain on January 1, 2016. [1] [2]
| Names | Country | Birth | Death | Occupation | Notable work |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Achmed Abdullah | 
United States
|
12 May 1881 | 12 May 1945 | Pulp writer and screenwriter | |
| Nikola Avramov | 
Bulgaria
|
21 May 1897 | 15 June 1945 | Still life paintings | |
| Milena Pavlović-Barili | 
Serbia
|
5 November 1909 | 6 March 1945 | Painter, poet | |
| Maurice Baring | 
United Kingdom
|
27 April 1874 | 14 December 1945 | Writer | |
| Béla Bartók | 
Hungary
|
25 March 1881 | 26 September 1945 | Composer | Concerto for Orchestra |
| Robert Benchley |
United States
|
15 September 1889 | 21 November 1945 | Humorist | newspaper and magazine columns |
| Henry Bellamann |
United States
|
28 April 1882 | 16 June 1945 | Writer | Kings Row |
| Ursula Bethell | 
New Zealand
|
6 October 1874 | 15 January 1945 | Poet | Collected poetry |
| Vilhelms Bokslafs | 
Latvia 
Russian Empire
|
12 October 1858 | 9 March 1945 | Architect | Most notable buildings are Jaunmokas Manor near Tukums and Commercial school in Riga (now Art Academy of Latvia) |
| Nicola Bombacci | 
Italy
|
24 October 1879 | 28 April 1945 | Marxist-Fascist journalist | Il mio pensiero sul bolscevismo (1941), I contadini nella Russia di Stalin (1942), I contadini nell'Italia di Mussolini (1943) |
| Dietrich Bonhoeffer | 
Germany
|
4 February 1906 | 9 April 1945 | Theologian | |
| Robert Brasillach | 
France
|
31 March 1909 | 6 February 1945 | Writer | Je suis partout |
| Miles J. Breuer |
United States
|
3 January 1889 | 14 October 1945 | Writer | "The Gostak and the Doshes" (1930) and other science fiction stories |
| Fritz Brupbacher | 
Switzerland
|
30 June 1874 | 1 January 1945 | Writer | Der Sinn des Lebens |
| Thomas Burke |
United Kingdom
|
29 November 1886 | 22 November 1945 | Writer | Limehouse Nights |
| Alexander Stirling Calder |
United States
|
11 January 1870 | 7 January 1945 | Sculptor | George Washington as President |
| David Young Cameron |
United Kingdom
|
28 June 1865 | 16 September 1945 | Artist | |
| Franklin Carmichael | 
Canada
|
5 May 1890 | 24 October 1945 | Artist | |
| Anica Černej | 
Slovenia
|
3 April 1900 | 3 May 1945 | Author, poet | |
| Benjamin De Casseres |
United States
|
3 April 1873 | 7 December 1945 | Journalist, poet | The Shadow-Eater |
| Margaret Deland |
United States
|
23 February 1856 | 13 January 1945 | Writer | John Ward, Preacher |
| Mário de Andrade | 
Brazil
|
9 October 1893 | 25 February 1945 | Writer | Macunaíma |
| Robert Desnos |
France
|
4 July 1900 | 8 June 1945 | Poet | |
| Maurice Donnay |
France
|
12 October 1859 | 31 March 1945 | Dramatist | |
| Lord Alfred Douglas |
United Kingdom
|
12 June 1859 | 20 March 1945 | Writer | Two Loves |
| Theodore Dreiser |
United States
|
27 August 1871 | 28 December 1945 | Writer, journalist | Sister Carrie, An American Tragedy |
| E. R. Eddison |
United Kingdom
|
24 November 1882 | 18 August 1945 | Writer | The Worm Ouroboros |
| Gus Edwards |
United States
|
18 August 1879 | 7 November 1945 | Songwriter | " By the Light of the Silvery Moon", " In My Merry Oldsmobile" |
| Eleanor Fortescue-Brigdale |
United Kingdom
|
1871 | 10 March 1945 | Artist | The Uninvited Guest, Riches |
| Anne Frank |
Germany 
|
12 June 1929 | February 1945 | Diarist | The Diary of a Young Girl |
| Øvre Richter Frich | 
Norway
|
24 March 1872 | 13 May 1945 | Writer, journalist | |
| Zinaida Gippius |
Russia
|
20 November 1869 | 9 September 1945 | Writer, poet | |
| Adolf Hitler |
Germany
|
20 April 1889 | 30 April 1945 | Politician, Dictator of Nazi Germany | Mein Kampf, Zweites Buch |
| Suphi Nuri İleri | 
Turkey
|
1887 | 1945 | Writer | |
| Ljubomir Ivanović |
Serbia
|
24 February 1882 | 23 November 1945 | Printmaker, draughtsman | |
| Malcolm Jameson |
United States
|
21 December 1891 | 16 April 1945 | Writer | Writer for American pulp magazines during the Golden Age of Science Fiction |
| Joseph Jastrow |
United States
|
30 January 1863 | 8 January 1945 | Psychologist | |
| Juliusz Kaden-Bandrowski | 
Poland
|
24 February 1885 | 8 August 1945 | Writer, journalist | |
| Osman Cemal Kaygılı |
Turkey
|
4 October 1879 | 9 January 1945 | Writer | |
| Carl Wilhelm Kern |
United States
|
4 June 1874 | 19 August 1945 | Composer | |
| Käthe Kollwitz |
Germany
|
8 July 1867 | 22 April 1945 | Artist | The Prisoners |
| Julius Korngold | 
Austria
|
24 December 1860 | 25 September 1945 | Music critic | |
| Jaroslav Kratochvil | 
Czech Republic
|
17 January 1885 | 20 March 1945 | Writer | |
| René Lalique |
France
|
6 April 1860 | 1 May 1945 | Glass designer | |
| Else Lasker-Schüler |
Germany
|
11 February 1869 | 22 January 1945 | Writer | poetry and plays |
| James Leatham [3] |
United Kingdom
|
19 December 1865 | 14 December 1945 | Writer, printer, publisher | |
| Jonas Lie |
Norway
|
31 December 1899 | 11 May 1945 | Writer, minister | |
| David Lindsay |
United Kingdom
|
3 March 1876 | 16 July 1945 | Writer | A Voyage to Arcturus |
| Eoin MacNeill | 
Ireland
|
15 May 1867 | 15 October 1945 | Writer | Phases of Irish History |
| Tobias Matthay |
United Kingdom
|
19 February 1858 | 15 December 1945 | Teacher, pianist, composer | writings on piano playing |
| Arthur Mendel | 
Romania
|
1872 | 1945 | Painter | |
| Régis Messac |
France
|
2 August 1893 | 1945 | Writer, poet, translator | |
| James V. Monaco |
United States
|
13 January 1885 | 16 October 1945 | Songwriter | " You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)" |
| Arthur Morrison |
United Kingdom
|
1 November 1863 | 4 December 1945 | Writer | A Child of the Jago |
| Benito Mussolini |
Italy
|
29 July 1883 | 28 April 1945 | Politician | My Autobiography |
| Moritz Nähr |
Austria
|
4 August 1859 | 29 June 1945 | Photographer | |
| Alla Nazimova |
United States
|
3 June 1879 | 13 July 1945 | Writer, actor | |
| Dobri Nemirov |
Bulgaria
|
3 February 1882 | 30 September 1945 | Writer | When I was young |
| Otto Neurath |
Austria
|
10 December 1882 | 22 December 1945 | Writer | Anti-Spengler |
| Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen | 
Denmark
|
21 June 1863 | 21 February 1945 | Sculptor | Equestrian Statue of King Christian IX, Copenhagen |
| Charles Gilman Norris |
United States
|
23 April 1881 | 25 July 1945 | Writer, playwright | Salt (1919) |
| George S. Patton |
United States
|
11 November 1885 | 21 December 1945 | General | War As I Knew it |
| Harry Pease |
United States
|
6 September 1886 | 8 November 1944 | Songwriter | |
| Calel Perechodnik |
Poland
|
8 September 1916 | September 1945 | Diarist | |
| Ion Pillat |
Romania
|
31 March 1891 | 17 April 1945 | Poet | Pe Argeș în sus, Poeme într-un vers |
| Karel Poláček |
Czech Republic
|
22 March 1892 | 21 January 1945 | Writer | |
| Vilhelms Purvītis |
Latvia
Russian Empire
|
3 March 1872 | 14 January 1945 | Landscape painter and educator | |
| Ernö Rapée |
United States
|
4 June 1891 | 26 June 1945 | Composer | silent film music |
| Edward Prosser Rhys |
United Kingdom
|
4 March 1901 | 6 February 1945 | Writer | Cerddi Prosser Rhys |
| Albert Richards |
United Kingdom
|
19 December 1919 | 5 March 1945 | Artist | Artwork produced during the Second World War about the British war effort |
| Alexander Roda Roda |
Austria
|
13 April 1872 | 20 August 1945 | Writer | |
| Hando Ruus | 
Estonia
|
16 May 1917 | 31 March 1945 | Military captain, artist | |
| Felix Salten |
Austria
|
6 September 1869 | 8 October 1945 | Writer | Bambi. Eine Lebensgeschichte aus dem Walde |
| Alexander Siloti | 
Ukraine
|
9 October 1863 | 8 December 1945 | Pianist, composer | |
| Kārlis Skalbe |
Latvia
Russian Empire
|
7 November 1879 | 14 April 1945 | Writer, poet, and activist | |
| Paul Smărăndescu |
Romania
|
26 June 1881 | 12 January 1945 | Architect | |
| Antal Szerb |
Hungary
|
1 May 1901 | 27 January 1945 | Writer | The Pendragon Legend |
| Ong Schan Tchow | 
China
|
19 September 1900 | 20 December 1945 | Artist | Book of Chrysanthemums |
| Nikolai Tcherepnin |
Russia
|
15 May 1873 | 26 June 1945 | Composer | |
| Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy |
Russia
|
15 May 1873 | 26 June 1945 | Writer | Aelita, The Garin Death Ray, The Road to Calvary |
| Teodor Trayanov |
Bulgaria
|
30 January 1882 | 15 January 1945 | Poet | Song of songs, Regina Mortua, Hymns and Ballads |
| Halid Ziya Uşaklıgil |
Turkey
|
1866 | 27 March 1945 | Writer | |
| Anton Webern |
Austria
|
3 December 1883 | 15 September 1945 | Composer | |
| Franz Werfel |
Austria
|
10 September 1890 | 26 August 1945 | Writer | The Song of Bernadette |
| Charles Williams |
United Kingdom
|
20 September 1886 | 15 May 1945 | Writer | Descent into Hell |
| John R. Commons |
United States
|
13 October 1862 | 11 May 1945 | Economist | Institutional Economics |
| August Lösch |
Germany
|
15 October 1906 | 30 May 1945 | Economist | Die räumliche Ordnung der Wirtschaft |
| David Lloyd George |
United Kingdom
|
17 January 1863 | 26 March 1945 | Politician | The Truth About The Peace Treaty, War Memoirs |
| Joseph Goebbels |
Germany
|
29 October 1897 | 1 May 1945 | Politician | Goebbels Diaries |
Entering the public domain in the United States
The Copyright Term Extension Act means no published works would enter the public domain in this jurisdiction until 2019. [4] Only unpublished works whose authors died in 1945 enter the public domain.
Works entering in public domain in 2016 by media
Books
- A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay
- Sidney, Philip and His Wife, The Awakening of Helena Richie, The Iron Woman, The Rising Tide by Margaret Deland.
- Paulicéia Desvairada, Macunaíma by Mário de Andrade
- Aşk-ı Memnu, Kırık Hayatlar by Halid Ziya Uşaklıgil
- Bambi, a Life in the Woods, Bambi's Children, Josephine Mutzenbacher, The Hound of Florence, Fünf Minuten Amerika, Perri by Felix Salten.
- Red Plague Poem by Józef Szczepański
- Journey by Moonlight by Antal Szerb
- The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
- A Child of the Jago by Arthur Morrison
- Collection of Poems. 1889–1903 and Collection of Poems. Book 2. 1903-1909 by Zinaida Gippius
- Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler
- Sister Carrie, Jennie Gerhardt, The Financier, The Titan, The "Genius", An American Tragedy, Chains: Lesser Novels and Stories, The Bulwark, The Stoic by Theodore Dreiser.
- The Worm Ouroboros by E. R. Eddison
Images
Music
- Six string quartets and Cantata Profana by Béla Bartók.
- Variations for piano, op. 27, String Quartet, Op. 28, Concerto for Nine Instruments, Op. 24 by Anton Webern.
- Prelude in E minor, BWV 855a by Alexander Siloti
- Music of Le Pavillon d'Armide Ballet by Nikolai Tcherepnin
- You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It) by James V. Monaco and Joseph McCarthy.
See also
- 2012 in public domain
- 2013 in public domain
- 2014 in public domain
- 2015 in public domain
- 2017 in public domain
- 2018 in public domain
- 2019 in public domain
- 2020 in public domain
- 2021 in public domain
- 2022 in public domain
- 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
- 1945 in literature, 1955 in literature, 1965 in literature and 1975 in literature
References
- ^ "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.
- ^ Directive 2006/116/EC
- ^ Crick, Martin (1994). The History of the Social-Democratic Federation. Edinburgh University Press. p. 311. ISBN 978-1-85331-091-1.
- ^ "Copyright and the Public Domain". Public Domain Information Project. Archived from the original on 2014-08-01. Retrieved 2015-12-13.