2024 in public domain explained

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 2024. Since laws vary globally, the copyright status of some works are not uniform.

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 For previously unpublished material, those who publish it first will have the publication rights for 25 years.

Names	Country	Birth	Death	Occupation	Notable work
Hans Aanrud	Norway			Writer
Tamar Abakelia	Georgia			Sculptor
Abdullah Yusuf Ali	India			Translator
Dimitri Arakishvili	Georgia			Composer	The Legend of Shota Rustaveli
Agustín Abarca	Chile			Painter
Walter Armitage	South Africa			Playwright
Vladimir Bakaleinikov				Composer, conductor
Rudolf Bauer	Germany			Painter
Arnold Bax	United Kingdom			Composer, writer	List of compositions by Arnold Bax
Harmsen van der Beek				Illustrator, commercial artist	Noddy
Hilaire Belloc	United Kingdom			Writer	Hilaire Belloc bibliography
Róbert Berény	Hungary			Painter	Sleeping Lady with Black Vase
Henri Bernstein	France			Playwright	Samson, Mélo
Elsa Beskow	Sweden			Writer, illustrator
Ugo Betti	Italy			Playwright, judge	The Fugitive
Henrik Bull	Norway			Architect	National Theatre
Ivan Bunin				Writer	List of short stories by Ivan Bunin, List of poems by Ivan Bunin
John Horne Burns	United States			Writer	The Gallery
Rosario Candela	United States			Architect	740 Park Avenue
Harold Cazneaux	Australia			Photographer	Cazneaux Tree
Ahmed Ghulam Ali Chagla	Pakistan			Composer	"Qaumi Taranah"
Albert Coates	United Kingdom			Composer, conductor
Ruth Crawford Seeger	United States			Composer	String Quartet 1931
Peter DeRose	United States			Composer	"Deep Purple"
Raoul Dufy	France			Painter
Edmund Dulac	France			Illustrator
Jean Epstein	France			Film director	The Fall of the House of Usher
Georges Le Faure	France			Writer
Emil Filla	Czech Republic			Painter
Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński	Poland			Poet	Skumbrie w tomacie
Albert Gleizes	France			Painter, writer	List of works by Albert Gleizes
Milt Gross	United States			Cartoonist
Guccio Gucci	Italy			Fashion designer
Sophia Hayden	United States			Architect	The Woman's Building
Mary Brewster Hazelton	United States			Painter
	Czech Republic			Photographer, writer and surrealist artist
Cecil Hepworth	United Kingdom			Film director, producer	Alice in Wonderland (1903 film)
Tatsuo Hori	Japan			Writer	The Wind Has Risen
Curuppumullage Jinarajadasa	Sri Lanka			Writer	Art as a factor in the soul's evolution
Joseph Jongen	Belgium			Composer	Mass, Op. 130
Emmerich Kálmán	Hungary			Composer	Die Csárdásfürstin, Countess Maritza, Die Zirkusprinzessin
Thiru. V. Kalyanasundaram	India			Writer
Fritz Kirchhoff	Germany			Film director	Attack on Baku
Moïse Kisling	France			Painter
Eduard Künneke	Germany			Composer	The Cousin from Nowhere
Elisabeth Kuyper				Composer
Jorge de Lima	Brazil			Politician, writer
Will Longstaff	Australia			Painter	Menin Gate at Midnight
Oskar Luts	Estonia			Writer, playwright
Kornel Makuszyński	Poland			Writer	Koziołek Matołek
Herman J. Mankiewicz	United States			Screenwriter	Citizen Kane
Emmanuel de Margerie	France			Geographer
John Marin	United States			Painter
Daniel Gregory Mason	United States			Composer, music critic
Erich Mendelsohn	Germany			Architect	List of works by Erich Mendelsohn
Moses Milner				Composer
Mime Misu	Romania			Dancer, film director	In Nacht und Eis, Das Mirakel
Vera Mukhina				Sculptor, painter	Worker and Kolkhoz Woman
Sulaiman Nadvi	Pakistan			Writer	Khutbat-e-madras
Ibrahim Nagi	Egypt			Poet	"Al-Atlal"
Francesco Saverio Nitti	Italy			Politician
Hisato Ohzawa	Japan			Composer	Piano Concerto No. 3
Eugene O'Neill	United States			Playwright	Long Day's Journey into Night
Francis Picabia	France			Painter	List of works by Francis Picabia
Joseph Pinchon	France			Illustrator	Bécassine
Uroš Predić	Serbia			Painter	Happy Brothers
Alice Prin	France			Model, painter, writer	Kiki's Memoirs
Sergei Prokofiev				Composer, conductor	List of compositions by Sergei Prokofiev
Vsevolod Pudovkin				Film director, screenwriter
Roger Quilter	United Kingdom			Composer	Arnold Book of Old Songs
Rachilde	France			Writer	Monsieur Vénus
Graciliano Ramos	Brazil			Writer, translator	Vidas secas
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings	United States			Author	The Yearling
Django Reinhardt	France			Composer, musician
Winold Reiss	United States			Painter	Winold Reiss industrial murals
Pasquale Rizzoli	Italy			Sculptor
Ludomir Różycki	Poland			Composer
Max Sainsaulieu	France			Architect	Carnegie Library of Reims
Rudolph Schindler	United States			Architect	Schindler House
Edward Shanks	United Kingdom			Writer	Fête Galante
Everett Shinn	United States			Painter
Joseph Stalin				Politician	Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR
Vladimir Tatlin				Painter, architect	Tatlin's Tower
Neyzen Tevfik	Turkey			Poet, satirist
Jérôme Tharaud	France			Writer
Dylan Thomas	United Kingdom			Poet	List of works by Dylan Thomas
Totius	South Africa			Poet
Julian Tuwim	Poland			Poet	"Murzynek Bambo"
Jules Van Nuffel	Belgium			Composer	In convertendo Dominus
Bernard Carra de Vaux	France	1867	1953	Orientalist
Vydūnas	Lithuania			Poet
Erich Weinert	Germany			Writer	"Der heimliche Aufmarsch"
Ben Ames Williams	United States			Writer	The Unconquered
Hank Williams	United States			Musician	List of songs written by Hank Williams
Arthur Wimperis	United Kingdom			Lyricist, screenwriter	The Arcadians, Mrs. Miniver
Friedrich Wolf	Germany			Writer	Professor Mamlock
Xu Beihong	China			Painter
Vsevolod Zaderatsky				Composer
John Stepan Zamecnik	United States			Composer

Countries with life + 60 years

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

Names	Country	Birth	Death	Occupation	Notable work
Babu Gulabrai	India			Writer
Enrique Pérez Arce	Mexico			Politician, writer	La Tambora
Nâzım Hikmet	Turkey			Poet	Kız Çocuğu
Amar Nath Kak	India	1889	1963	Writer
Georges Braque	France			Painter, sculptor
Rajendra Prasad	India			Politician, writer
Acharya Shivpujan Sahay	India			Writer
Laxminarayan Sahu	India			Writer
Rahul Sankrityayan	India			Activist, writer
Anasuya Shankar	India			Writer
Hemendra Kumar Roy	India			Writer
Laudelino Mejías		August 1893		Composer

Countries with life + 50 years

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

Names	Country	Birth	Death	Occupation	Notable work
Aziz Abaza	Egypt			Poet, politician
Zainal Abidin Ahmad	Malaysia			Writer, linguist
W. H. Auden				Poet
Malek Bennabi	Algeria			Philosopher	Les Conditions de la Renaissance
Charles Brasch	New Zealand			Poet, editor	Landfall
Elizabeth Bowen	Ireland United Kingdom			Biologist
Pearl S. Buck	United States			Novelist	The Good Earth
Amílcar Cabral	Cape Verde Guinea-Bissau			Activist	Esta É a Nossa Pátria Bem Amada
John Creasey	United Kingdom			Writer	Gideon's Day
				Musician
				Playwright	Noël Coward on stage and screen
				Novelist, artist	In the Realms of the Unreal
				Lyricist, film producer	Singin' in the Rain
				Director	John Ford filmography
Ragnar Frisch	Norway			Economist
Anthony Gilbert				Writer	The Vanishing Corpse
Elisabeth Hauptmann	Germany			Playwright	The Threepenny Opera (with Bertolt Brecht)
Taha Hussein	Egypt			Poet, politician	The Days
				Politician
		1898 or 1899	1973	Poet
	United States			Martial artist	Tao of Jeet Kune Do
Kathleen Lindsay		1903	1973	Writer
Gian Francesco Malipiero	Italy			Composer, musicologist	L'Orfeide
		1884	1973	Childrens writer	The Windy Hill
Nancy Mitford				Writer	The Pursuit of Love
Pablo Neruda				Poet	Canto General, Oda al Gato
Robert C. O'Brien	United States			Writer	Z for Zachariah
Kid Ory	United States			Composer	Red Allen, Kid Ory & Jack Teagarden at Newport
				Musician
Isabel Peacocke	New Zealand			Writer	Cathleen with a 'C
				Painter	Guernica, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon
				Composer
William Plomer	South Africa			Writer
				Lyricist	Ain't Misbehavin'
Gopal Prasad Rimal	Nepal			Poet	Jangi Nishan Hamro
Ivan T. Sanderson	United States			Biologist
Nigoghos Sarafian	France	1902	1972	Poet
				Muslim scolar	Works
				Comedian	"Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh (A Letter from Camp)"
Ousmane Diop Socé	Senegal			Poet	Contes et légendes d'Afrique noire
Abdillahi Suldaan Mohammed Timacade	Somalia	1920		Poet
Bhim Nidhi Tiwari	Nepal	1911	1973	Poet	Dagbatti
				Writer	J. R. R. Tolkien bibliography
Valentin Tomberg				Mystic	Meditations on the Tarot
				Composer
				Philosopher	Alan Watts bibliography

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.

Names	Country	Birth	Death	Occupation	Notable work
Carlos Arniches	Spain			Playwright
Carmen Karr	Spain			Activist, composer
Francisco Rodríguez Marín	Spain			Poet
José Jurado de la Parra	Spain			Poet, playwright
Guillermo Valencia	Colombia			Poet, translator

Australia and Canada

See also: Copyright law of Australia and Copyright law of Canada. 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).^[1]

Similarly, Canada amended its Copyright Act in 2022 from a "plus 50" law to a "plus 70" law, coming into force on December 30, 2022, but not reviving expired copyright.^{[2] [3]} No more new authors will come out of copyright in Canada until 1 January 2043 (those who died in 1972). Crown copyright was not changed, thus works published in 1973 entered the public domain in 2024.^[4]

United States

See also: Public domain in the United States and 2024 in American public domain.

Sound recordings that were published in 1923 entered the public domain.^[5]

Under the Copyright Term Extension Act, books published in 1928, films released in 1928, and other works published in 1928, entered the public domain in 2024.^[6] Unpublished works whose authors died in 1953 entered the public domain.

The earliest incarnations of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse entered the public domain work in 2024 through Steamboat Willie and the silent versions of Plane Crazy and The Gallopin' Gaucho. The sound versions of the latter two shorts will enter the public domain in 2025.^[7] The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne, including the character Tigger, entered the public domain in 2024. Notable films which entered the public domain in the United States include Abie's Irish Rose, Charlie Chaplin's The Circus, Buster Keaton's The Cameraman, In Old Arizona, The Man Who Laughs, Noah's Ark, The Passion of Joan of Arc, Lights of New York, The Singing Fool, and Harold Lloyd's final silent feature, Speedy.

Additional notable works which entered the public domain in the United States include Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence, by Virginia Woolf, The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall, Millions of Cats by Wanda Gág, Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh, The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie, Story of the Eye by Georges Bataille, The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht, and An American in Paris by George Gershwin.

See also

• 1953 in literature and 1973 in literature for deaths of writers
• Public Domain Day
• Creative Commons

External links

• Web site: Authors by Year of Death – 1953. AuthorAndBookInfo.com.
• Popular Books of 1928 at Goodreads
• Public Domain Day 2024 at the Center for the Study of the Public Domain, Duke University School of Law

Notes and References

1. Web site: How long does copyright last? . . 10 June 2020.
2. Web site: An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 7, 2022 and other measures . . 2022-06-23 . . 2022-11-28.
3. Web site: PC Number: 2022-1219 . . 2022-11-17 . . 2022-11-28.
4. Web site: Crown Copyright - FAQ . Government of Canada . www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca . 26 October 2023.
5. Web site: Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States . Cornell University Library Copyright Information Center . Hirtle . Peter B. . 3 January 2020 . 17 December 2020.
6. Web site: Copyright and the Public Domain . Public Domain Information Project . 2019-01-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140801121535/http://www.pdinfo.com/Copyright-Law/Copyright-Law.php . 2014-08-01 . dead .
7. News: Mickey's Headed to the Public Domain! But Will He Go Quietly? – Office of Copyright. 2014-10-17. Office of Copyright. en-US.