Social:2020 in public domain

Short description: Overview of works entering public domain

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 2020. Since laws vary globally, the copyright status of some works is not uniform.

Entering the public domain in 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 at the end of the calendar year following 70 years after the creator's death, if it was published during the creator's lifetime. Russia has a 4-year extension to Life+ 70 (in essence Life+74) for authors who worked during World War II in the Soviet Union. The list is sorted alphabetically and includes a notable work of the creator that entered the public domain on January 1, 2020.

Names	Country	Birth	Death	Occupation	Notable work
James Truslow Adams	United States	1878	1949	Writer	The March of Democracy
Virginia M. Alexander	United States	1900	1949	Physician	Publications
Hervey Allen	United States	1889	1949	Author	Anthony Adverse
Masaharu Anesaki	Japan	1873	1949	Historian	History of Japanese Religion
Mary Antin	United States	1881	1949	Writer	The Promised Land
Josef Maria Auchentaller	Austria	1865	1949	Artist	Bunte Bände
Alice Bailey	United States	1880	1949	Writer	Works
Rodolfo Garcia (pt)	Brazil	1873	1949	Historian
Hassan al-Banna	Egypt	1906	1949	imam	Mudhakkirât al-da'wa wa al-dâ'iya
Philip Barry	United States	1896	1949	Playwright	Holiday
Billy Baskette	United States	1884	1949	Pianist, composer	Good Bye Broadway, Hello France
Rex Beach	United States	1877	1949	Writer, Olympic athlete	The Spoilers
H. Bedford-Jones	United States	1887	1949	Writer	The John Solomon series
Khalil Beidas	Palestine	1874	1949	novelist	Works
Federico Beltrán Masses	Spain	1885	1949	Painter
Friedrich Bergius	Germany	1884	1949	Chemist	Bergius process
Elsa Bernstein	Austria	1866	1949	Writer	Königskinder
Musa Bigiev	Russia	1873 (O. S.)	1949	Theologian	Selected works
Elisheva Bikhovski	Israel	1888	1949	Writer, Translator	Simta'ot
Netherlands	1875	1949	Writer
Gustavus M. Blech	United States	1870	1949	Physician	Practical Suggestions in Borderland Surgery
Leonard Bloomfield	United States	1887	1949	Linguist	Selected publications
George Botsford	United States	1874	1949	Composer
Robert Boudrioz	France	1887	1949	Film director, screenwriter	The Man with a Broken Ear
Umberto Brunelleschi	Italy	1879	1949	Artist, Illustrator
Guillermo Buitrago	Colombia	1920	1949	Composer	La Vispera de Año Nuevo
Harry Burleigh	United States	1866	1949	Composer, singer	settings of spirituals
Helen Churchill Candee	United States	1858	1949	Writer, feminist	Angkor the Magnificent
N. D. Cocea	Romania	1880	1949	Journalist, Novelist	Vinul de viață lungă
Richard Connell	United States	1893	1949	Writer	The Most Dangerous Game
Carlo Conti Rossini	Italy	1872	1949	Orientalist	Italia ed Etiopia dal trattato di Uccialli alla battaglia d'Adua
Dorothea Conyers	Ireland	1869	1949	Novelist
Will Cuppy	United States	1884	1949	Humorist	How to be a Hermit
Stoyan Danev	Bulgaria	1858	1949	Jurist and politician
Norman Davey	United Kingdom	1888	1949	Engineer, Writer	The Pilgrim of a Smile
Edgar De Lange	United States	1904	1949	Composer
Félix d'Herelle	France	1873	1949	Microbiologist	Published works
Georgi Dimitrov	Bulgaria	1882	1949	Politician, revolutionary	Georgi Dimitrov bibliography
Grigoraș Dinicu	Romania	1889	1949	Composer	Hora staccato
Ali Douagi	Tunisia	1909	1949	sketch artist	Sahirtu minhu al-layali
Alexander Drankov	Russia Soviet Union	1886	1949	photographer, cameraman, film producer
William Price Drury	United Kingdom	1861	1949	Writer, soldier, politician	The Flag Lieutenant
Inés Echeverría Bello	Chile	1868	1949	Writer	Entre Deux Mondes
Arthur Eichengrün	Germany	1867	1949	Chemist	50 Jahre Aspirin
Finland	1877	1949	novelist	Silkkilaiva
James Ensor	Belgium	1860	1949	Artist	Christ's Entry Into Brussels in 1889
Herbert Eulenberg	Germany	1876	1949	Writer	Schattenbilder. Eine Fibel für Kulturbedürftige in Deutschland
August Fischer	Germany	1865	1949	Orientalist	Arabische Chrestomathie aus Prosaschriftstellern
Victor Fleming	United States	1889	1949	Film Director	The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind
James Forrestal	United States	1892	1949	Politician	The Forrestal Diaries
Nikolay Gamaleya	Russia	1859	1949	Physician, microbiologist
Henri Giraud	France	1879	1949	General	Mes Evasions, Un seul but; la victoire: Alger 1942-1944
Russia	1903	1949	Poet	Song about Shchors
Spain	1889	1949	Orientalist	El amor entre los musulmanes españoles, El tesoro de los Nazaríes
Hari Singh Gour	India	1870	1949	Jurist, educator, writer	The Penal Law of India
Martin Grabmann	Germany	1875	1949	Priest, Historian	Thomas Aquinas: His Personality and Thought
Stanisław Grabski	Poland	1871	1949	Economist, Politician
Major Greenwood	United Kingdom	1880	1949	Epidemiologist	Publications
Joan Lamote de Grignon	Spain	1872	1949	Composer	La nit de Nadal
George Gurdjieff	Armenia	1866	1949	spiritual teacher	The Herald of Coming Good
František Halas	Czech Republic	1901	1949	Poet, translator
Fritz Hart	United Kingdom	1874	1949	Composer, conductor
Syed Zafarul Hasan	Pakistan	1885	1949	Philosopher	Realism
Kunihiko Hashimoto	Japan	1904	1949	Composer	Azami no Hana
Will Hay	United Kingdom	1888	1949	Comedian, amateur astronomer	Through My Telescope
Burton J. Hendrick	United States	1870	1949	Author	The Life and Letters of Walter H. Page
Johann Jakob Hess	Germany	1866	1949	Egyptologist	Von den Beduinen des inneren Arabiens
Ludwig Hohlwein	Germany	1874	1949	Poster artist
William Jackson Humphreys	United States	1862	1949	physicist	Bibliography
Otto Hupp	Germany	1859	1949	graphical artist	Wappen und Siegel der deutschen Städte, Flecken und Dörfer
Douglas Hyde	Ireland	1860	1949	linguist	The necessity for de-anglicising the Irish nation
Edmond Jaloux	France	1878	1949	Novelist	Works
Josep Maria Jujol	Spain	1879	1949	Architect	Casa Batlló, Park Güell
Austria	1886	1949	Writer	Die Mutter der Neun
Clarence Jones	United States	1889	1949	Composer
Pierre Jouguet	France	1869	1949	Egyptologist	Works
Unno Juza	Japan	1897	1949	Writer of science fiction
Anna Karima	Bulgaria	1871	1949	Writer and translator
Selâhattin Kantar	Turkey	1878	1949	playwright	Kara Dana
Hans Kindler	United States	1892	1949	Conductor, cellist, arranger of music	Recordings
Hugh Kingsmill	United Kingdom	1889	1949	Writer, journalist
Martin Knudsen	Denmark	1871	1949	Physicist	The Kinetic Theory of Gases
József Koszta	Hungary	1861	1949	Painter	Girl with Geraniums
Fritz Krischen	Germany	1881	1949	Archaeologist, Architect	Die Stadtmauern von Pompeji und griechische Festungsbaukunst in Unteritalien und Sizilien
August Krogh	Denmark	1874	1949	Zoologist	The Respiratory Exchange of Animals and Man
Albert Christian Kruyt	Netherlands	1869	1949	Ethnographer	The Bare'e speaking Toraja of Central Sulawesi
Lead Belly	United States	1888	1949	Musician, songwriter	Goodnight, Irene
Vasily Lebedev-Kumach	Russia	1898	1949	Poet	The Sacred War
Fidelio Ponce de León	Cuba	1895	1949	Painter	Niňos
Ernst Lommatzsch	Germany	1871	1949	Classical scholar	Corpus inscriptionum latinarum: Vol. 1. Inscriptiones Latinae antiquissimae
Albert Howe Lybyer	United States	1876	1949	orientalist	The Government of the Ottoman Empire in the Time of Suleiman the Magnificent
Carmen Lyra	Costa Rica	1888	1949	Writer	Cuentos De Mi Tia Panchita
Antonio Machado	Spain	1875	1939	Poet	Works
Maurice Maeterlinck	Belgium	1862	1949	Playwright	Works
René Maire	France	1878	1949	botanist	Flore de l'Afrique du Nord
Jane Mander	New Zealand	1877	1949	Novelist	The Story of a New Zealand River
Klaus Mann	Germany	1906	1949	Novelist	Mephisto
J. C. Mardrus	France	1868	1949	Orientalist	Works
Paul Marc	Germany	1877	1949	Byzantine scholar	Die hellenistisch-jüdische Literatur
Wilhelm von Massow	Germany	1891	1949	Archaeologist	Das römische Trier
Elton Mayo	Australia	1880	1949	Psychologist	Publications
Ibrahim al-Mazini	Egypt	1889	1949	Writer	Spider Webs
Stefan Meyer	Austria	1872	1949	Physicist	Radioaktivität
Margaret Mitchell	United States	1900	1949	Novelist	Gone with the Wind
Axel Munthe	Sweden	1857	1949	Psychiatrist	The Story of San Michele
Khalil Mutran	Lebanon	1872	1949	poet
Sarojini Naidu	India	1879	1949	Poet	Works
Vladimir Nazor	Croatia	1876	1949	Poet, politician
Makino Nobuaki	Japan	1861	1949	Statesman	Makino Nobuaki nikki
Vítězslav Novák	Czech Republic	1870	1949	Composer	Bouře
Carlos Obligado	Argentina	1889	1949	Writer, critic	March of the Malvinas
Sidney Olcott	Canada	1872	1949	Film director	The Pony Express
Francesco Pasinetti	Italy	1911	1949	Film Director, screenwriter	The Canal of the Angels
Elin Pelin	Bulgaria	1877	1949	Writer
Una Pope-Hennessy	United Kingdom	1875	1949	Historian	Secret Societies and the French Revolution
Camillo Praschniker	Austria	1884	1949	Archaeologist	Archäologische Forschungen in Albanien und Montenegro
Guillermo Tell Villegas Pulido	Venezuela	1854	1949	politician	Works
Alfred Rehder	United States	1863	1949	Botanist	Manual of Cultivated Trees and Shrubs, Hardy in North America
Albert Rehm	Germany	1871	1949	Classical scholar	Mythographische Untersuchungen über griechische Sternsagen
Gennaro Righelli	Italy	1886	1949	Film director, screenwriter	Svengali
Tod Robbins	United States	1888	1949	writer	Works
Julius Ruska	Germany	1867	1949	Orientalist	Al Razi (Rhases) als Chemiker
Antoun Saadeh	Lebanon	1904	1949	Politician	Nushu' al-Umam
E. Robert Schmitz	France	1889	1949	Composer	The Piano works of Claude Debussy
Paul Schultze-Naumburg	Germany	1869	1949	Architect	Die Kunst der Deutschen. Ihr Wesen und ihre Werke
Alexey Shchusev	Russia	1873	1949	Architect	Lenin's Mausoleum
Nikos Skalkottas	Greece	1904	1949	Composer	List of compositions by Nikos Skalkottas
G. E. M. Skues	United Kingdom	1858	1949	Writer, fly fisherman	The Way of a Trout with the Fly
Frank Smythe	United Kingdom	1900	1949	Mountaineer, author, photographer	The Kangchenjunga Adventure
Edith Somerville	Ireland	1858	1949	Novelist	The Irish R.M.
Otto Stählin	Germany	1868	1949	Classical scholar	Die hellenistisch-jüdische Literatur
Edward Stettinius	United States	1900	1949	Politician	Roosevelt and the Russians
Herbert Stothart	United States	1885	1949	Composer, songwriter, conductor	Score for The Wizard of Oz
Richard Strauss	Germany	1864	1949	Composer	List of compositions
Harry Stack Sullivan	United States	1892	1949	Psychiatrist	Works
Ali Mahmoud Taha	Egypt	1901	1949	Poet	Nights of the Lost Sailor, Palestine
Edward Thorndike	United States	1874	1949	Psychologist	Works
Joaquín Torres-García	Uruguay	1874	1949	Artist, writer
Gancho Tsenov	Bulgaria	1870	1949	Historian
Joaquín Turina	Spain	1882	1949	Composer	Danzas fantásticas
Uemura Shōen	Japan	1875	1949	Artist	Jo-no-mai
Sigrid Undset	Norway	1882	1949	Novelist	Works
Shabbir Ahmad Usmani	Pakistan	1887	1949	theologian	Fathul Mulhim Sharh Sahih Muslim
Raimond Valgre	Estonia	1913	1949	composer, musician
Josef Velenovský	Czech Republic	1858	1949	botanist	Works
Oswald Garrison Villard	United States	1872	1949	Journalist, civil rights activist	John Brown 1800-1859: A Biography Fifty Years After
Rosy Wertheim	Netherlands	1888	1949	Composer
Elin Wägner	Sweden	1882	1949	Novelist	The Penholder
Lee "Lasses" White	United States	1888	1949	Pianist, songwriter, actor
E. H. Young	United Kingdom	1880	1949	Novelist and children's writer
Arthur Leo Zagat	United States	1896	1949	Writer, lawyer
Nikola Zhekov	Bulgaria	1864	1949	General	Memoirs
Oton Župančič	Slovenia	1878	1949	Writer, translator	Ciciban

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, Egypt and Uruguay; a work enters the public domain at the end of the calendar year following 50 years after the creator's death.

Names	Country	Birth	Death	Occupation	Notable work
Alejandro G. Abadilla	Philippines	1906	1969	Writer	Ako ang Daigdig
Sargis Abrahamyan	Armenia	1915	1969	Writer	With Generations
Theodor W. Adorno	Germany	1903	1969	Philosopher	Theodor W. Adorno bibliography
Ricardo Aguirre	Venezuela	1939	1969	Singer, Composer	La Grey Zuliana
Ignacio Aldecoa	Spain	1925	1969	Author	El fulgor y la sangre
Ikbal Ali Shah	India	1894	1969	Writer, diplomat	Afghanistan of the Afghans
Edgar Anderson	United States	1897	1969	Botanist	Introgressive Hybridization
Charlotte Armstrong	United States	1905	1969	Author	A Dram of Poison
Marius Barbeau	Canada	1883	1969	Ethnographer	Downfall of Temlaham
Daniel E. Barbey	United States	1889	1969	Naval Officer	MacArthur's Amphibious Navy
Arthur K. Barnes	United States	1909	1969	Science-Fiction Writer	Works
Emilio Bigi	Paraguay	1910	1969	Musician	Renacer guarani
Charles Brackett	United States	1892	1969	Novelist, Screenwriter
Gabriel Chevallier	France	1895	1969	Novelist	Clochemerle
Ivy Compton-Burnett	United Kingdom	1884	1969	Novelist	Manservant and Maidservant
Richmal Crompton	United Kingdom	1890	1969	Writer, Teacher	Just William series
Alexandra David-Néel	Belgium France	1868	1969	Explorer, Spiritualist	Mystiques et magiciens du Tibet
Aleksandr Deyneka	Russia	1899	1969	Artist	The Defense of Petrograd
Otto Dix	Germany	1891	1969	Artist	The Trench
Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg	Germany	1873	1969	explorer, politician	Ins innerste Afrika
Max Eastman	United States	1883	1969	Writer	Reflections on the Failure of Socialism
Dwight D. Eisenhower	United States	1890	1969	Military Officer, statesman	Crusade in Europe
Abo El Seoud El Ebiary	Egypt	1910	1969	Playwright, songwriter	Afrita hanem
Olivia FitzRoy	United Kingdom	1921	1969	Author of children's books	Orders to Poach
Botong Francisco	Philippines	1912	1969	Muralist	The Progress of Medicine in the Philippines
Karl Freund	Germany	1890	1969	Cinematographer, film director	The Mummy
Rómulo Gallegos	Venezuela	1884	1969	Novelist, politician	Doña Bárbara
Witold Gombrowicz	Poland	1904	1969	Writer, playwright	Ferdydurke
Walter Gropius	Germany	1883	1969	Architect	Bauhaus
Wendell Hall	United States	1896	1969	Singer-songwriter	It Ain't Gonna Rain No Mo'
Ho Chi Minh	Vietnam	19 May 1890	2 September 1969	President	Proclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam
Karl Jaspers	Germany	1883	1969	Psychiatrist, Philosopher	General Psychopathology
Jack Kerouac	United States	1922	1969	Writer	On the Road
Norman Lindsay	Australia	1879	1969	Artist, Writer	The Magic Pudding
Frank Loesser	United States	1910	1969	Songwriter	Baby, It's Cold Outside, A Bushel and a Peck
Erika Mann	Germany	1905	1969	Writer, actress	Zehn Millionen Kinder. Die Erziehung der Jugend im Dritten Reich
Gavin Maxwell	United Kingdom	1914	1969	Author	Ring of Bright Water
Leo McCarey	United States	1898	1969	Film director, screenwriter	The Bells of St. Mary's
Jimmy McHugh	United States	1894	1969	Composer	South American Way
Meher Baba	India	1894	1969	Mystic	God Speaks
Mikio Naruse	Japan	1905	1969	Film director, screenwriter	Apart from You
Mutesa II of Buganda	Uganda	1924	1969	Statesman	The Desecration of My Kingdom
Seabury Quinn	United States	1889	1969	Author, lawyer	Roads
August Sang	Estonia	1914	1969	Poet	Üks noormees otsib õnne
Muhammad Shahidullah	Bangladesh	1885	1969	Writer, philologist	Bangla Sahityer Katha
Ben Shahn	United States	1898	1969	Artist	Jersey Homesteads Mural
Osbert Sitwell	United Kingdom	1892	1969	Writer	Before the Bombardment
Josef von Sternberg	United States	1894	1969	Film director	Shanghai Express
Leonard Woolf	United Kingdom	1880	1969	writer, publisher	The Village in the Jungle
John Wyndham	United Kingdom	1903	1969	Science-Fiction Writer	The Day of the Triffids, The Midwich Cuckoos

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 America and the European Union. But the change was not made retroactive (unlike the 1995 change in the European Union which brought some European 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).

Unpublished works by authors who died in 1949 entered the public domain on 1 January 2020. Any published literary, artistic, dramatic, or musical work (other than computer programs) by a not generally known author (anonymous or pseudonymous) from 1949 also entered the public domain on that date.

Entering the public domain in the United States

Works that entered the public domain on January 1, 2020, in the United States include:

• In general, works published in 1924 (including printed music). However, sound recordings that were first made prior to February 15, 1972, are treated as a special case under US copyright law, and under the Music Modernization Act, sound recordings published in 1924 will enter the public domain in 2025.
• Books, films, and other works published in 1924 (under the Copyright Term Extension Act).
• Unpublished works whose authors died in 1949.

Some of the published works that entered the public domain include the earliest sheet music for George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and Buster Keaton's silent comedy film Sherlock Jr.

Tom Lehrer

In October 2020, satirical singer/songwriter Tom Lehrer announced the release of all of his lyrics and music to the public domain.

See also

• List of American films of 1924
• 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
• 1949 in literature, 1959 in literature, 1969 in literature and 1979 in literature

External links

• "Authors by Year of Death - 1949". AuthorAndBookInfo.com. http://www.authorandbookinfo.com/abyod/1949.htm. 
• Popular Books of 1924 at Goodreads.