2017 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 2017. Since laws vary globally, the copyright status of some works are not uniform.

Entering the public domain in countries with life + 70 years

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With the exception of Belarus, a work enters the public domain in Europe 70 years after the creator's death, if it was published during the creator's lifetime.[1][2] The list is sorted alphabetically and includes a notable work of the creator that entered the public domain on January 1, 2017. This term also applies to unpublished works in the United States (otherwise see below).

Names Country Birth Death Occupation Notable work
Giuseppe Adami  Italy 4 February 1878 12 October 1946 librettist Libretti for three operas composed by Giacomo Puccini
Eriks Ādamsons  Latvia 22 June 1907 28 February 1946 writer, poet, translator
Armando Augusto Freire (Armandinho)  Portugal 11 October 1891 21 December 1946 Fado guitarist and composer
Louis Bachelier  France 11 March 1870 28 April 1946 Mathematician
Herbert Baker  United Kingdom 9 June 1862 4 February 1946 Architect
Helen Bannerman  United Kingdom 25 February 1862 3 October 1946 Writer The Story of Little Black Sambo
Granville Bantock  United Kingdom 7 August 1868 16 October 1946 composer
James Bernard  United Kingdom 11 April 1874 5 March 1946 Elocutionist
Allan Cyril Brooks  Canada 15 February 1869 3 January 1946 Ornithologist, illustrator and artist
Alfonso Broqua [es]  Uruguay 15 February 1869 24 November 1946 Composer
Charles Despiau  France 4 November 1874 30 October 1946 Sculptor
J. Michael Diack  United Kingdom 26 June 1869 2 February 1946 Composer, arranger Arranged nursery rhymes in the style of Handel
Manuel de Falla  Spain 23 November 1876 14 November 1946 Composer Nights in the Gardens of Spain, Ritual Fire Dance
W. C. Fields  United States 29 January 1880 25 December 1946 Writer
Jane Findlater  United Kingdom 4 November 1866 20 May 1946 Writer
Dion Fortune  United Kingdom 6 December 1890 6 January 1946 Writer and occultist The Demon Lover, The Winged Bull, The Goat-Foot God, The Sea Priestess
Wanda Gág  United States 11 March 1893 27 June 1946 Children's book author, artist, translator and illustrator Millions of Cats
Gerhart Hauptmann  Germany 15 November 1862 6 June 1946 Writer, Nobel Prize laureate The Weavers, Bahnwärter Thiel (De)
Patty Hill  United States 27 March 1868 25 May 1946 Songwriter Happy Birthday to You (with sister Mildred J. Hill, who predeceased her)
Violet Jacob  United Kingdom 1 September 1863 9 September 1946 Writer and poet
John Maynard Keynes  United Kingdom 5 June 1883 21 April 1946 Economist A Treatise on Money
Hermann von Keyserling  Germany 20 July 1880 26 April 1946 Philosopher
Otis Adelbert Kline  United States 1 July 1891 24 October 1946 Literary agent and science fiction writer
Paul Langevin  France 21 January 1872 19 December 1946 Physicist
Henri Le Fauconnier  France 1881 1946 Painter
Józef Mehoffer  Poland 19 March 1869 8 July 1946 Painter and decorative artist
Adolph de Meyer  France 9 January 1868 6 January 1946 Photographer
László Moholy-Nagy  Hungary 20 July 1895 24 November 1946 Painter and photographer Light-Space Modulator
Paul Nash  United Kingdom 11 May 1889 11 July 1946 Painter/photographer
Mikhail Nesterov  Russia 31 May 1862 18 October 1942[3] Painter
Feliks Nowowiejski  Poland 7 February 1877 18 January 1946 Composer Rota (music)
Clemente Palma  Peru 3 December 1872 13 August 1946 Author
Júlio Prestes  Brazil 15 March 1882 9 February 1946 Politician
Damon Runyon  United States 4 October 1880 10 December 1946 Writer and newspaperman
Abel Salazar (scientist)  Portugal 19 July 1889 29 December 1946 Scientist and Painter
Alice Sauvrezis  France 4 April 1866 12 April 1946 Composer
Ernest Thompson Seton  United Kingdom 14 August 1860 23 October 1946 Writer and wildlife artist Wild Animals I Have Known
May Sinclair  United Kingdom 24 August 1863 14 November 1946 Writer
Václav Špála  Czech Republic 24 August 1885 13 May 1946 Painter
Léon Spilliaert  Belgium 28 July 1881 23 November 1946 Painter
Gertrude Stein  United States 3 February 1874 27 July 1946 Writer The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, Three Lives
Karl Hans Strobl  Czech Republic 18 January 1877 10 March 1946 Author and editor
Harry Von Tilzer  United States 8 July 1872 10 January 1946 Songwriter Ziegfeld Follies
Frona Eunice Wait  United States 19 August 1859 1946 Author and newspaper writer Wines and Vines of California
George Henry Weiss  United States 1898 1946 Writer of science fiction and poetry The Night People
H. G. Wells  United Kingdom 21 September 1866 13 August 1946 Writer The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man
Stewart Edward White  United States 12 March 1873 18 September 1946 Writer and spiritualist
Cornel Simanjuntak  Indonesia 1921 15 September 1946 Songwriter Maju Tak Gentar, Sorak-Sorak Bergembira, Bungaku, Indonesia Tetap Merdeka, Ku Pinta Lagi, Maju Indonesia
Alfred Rosenberg  Germany 12 January 1893 16 October 1946 Politician, writer The Myth of the Twentieth Century
Paul Zech  Germany 19 February 1881 7 September 1946 Poet Die lasterhaften Balladen und Lieder des François Villon
Heinrich Freiherr von Stackelberg  Germany 31 October 1905 12 October 1946 Economist Marktform und Gleichgewicht

Entering the public domain in countries with life + 50 years

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

Names Country Birth Death Occupation Notable work
Ralph Allen  Canada 25 August 1913 2 December 1966 Writer, journalist Peace River Country
Lauro Ayestarán  Uruguay 9 July 1913 22 July 1966 Musicologist La música en el Uruguay
André Breton  France 19 February 1896 28 September 1966 Writer, poet Surrealist Manifesto
Jan Brzechwa  Poland 15 August 1898 2 July 1966 Poet
Deems Taylor  United States 22 December 1885 3 July 1966 Composer, music critic
Walt Disney  United States 5 December 1901 15 December 1966 Filmmaker
C. S. Forester  United Kingdom 27 August 1899 2 April 1966 Writer Horatio Hornblower, The African Queen, The General
Lloyd Garrett  United States 2 July 1886 15 April 1966 Tenor, composer
Alberto Giacometti   Switzerland 10 October 1901 11 January 1966 Sculptor, 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
César Batlle Pacheco  Uruguay 3 August 1885 6 January 1966 Politician, Journalist
Olhinto María Simoes  Uruguay 5 June 1901 9 October 1966 Poet, journalist La sombra de los plátanos
Cordwainer Smith  United States 11 July 1913 6 August 1966 Science fiction writer, professor, military officer Psychological Warfare, Norstrilia, Scanners Live in Vain, Alpha Ralpha Boulevard, A Planet Named Shayol
Evelyn Waugh  United Kingdom 28 October 1903 10 April 1966 Writer Vile Bodies, A Handful of Dust
Mohamed Fawzi  Egypt 15 August 1918 20 October 1966 Singer, Musician Kassaman
Mohamed El Qasabgi  Egypt 1892 25 March 1966 Musician Raq El Habib
Badie' Khayri  Egypt 17 August 1893 1 February 1966 Playwright Hassan wa Murqus wa Cohen
Lekhnath Paudyal    Nepal 28 December 1884 1966 Poet Tarun Tapasi
Sayyid Qutb  Egypt 9 October 1906 29 August 1966 Writer Ma'alim fi al-Tariq, Fi Zilal al-Quran

Entering the public domain in Australia

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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 America 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). 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).

Entering the public domain in the United States

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See also: 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] The exception are unpublished works, which are subject to 70 years after the death of the creator, as above.

See also

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Lists of authors

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  • Authors listed in Wikidata who died in 1946
  • Over 300 public domain authors available in Wikisource (any language), with descriptions from Wikidata
  • "Authors by Year of Death - 1946". AuthorAndBookInfo.com.

References

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  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. ^ Directive 2006/116/EC
  3. ^ Copyright term in Russia is extended by 4 years for authors who fought in or worked during the 1941-1945 war.
  4. ^ "Copyright and the Public Domain". Public Domain Information Project. Archived from the original on 2014-08-01. Retrieved 2015-12-13.
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