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 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.Directive 2006/116/EC 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 This term also applies to unpublished works in the United States (otherwise see below).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 Death Occupation Notable work Giuseppe Adami librettist Libretti for three operas composed by Giacomo Puccini Eriks Ādamsons writer, poet, translator Armando Augusto Freire (Armandinho) Fado guitarist and composer Louis Bachelier Mathematician Herbert Baker ArchitectHelen Bannerman Writer The Story of Little Black Sambo Granville Bantock composer James Bernard Elocutionist Allan Cyril Brooks Ornithologist, illustrator and artist Composer Charles Despiau Sculptor J. Michael Diack Composer, arranger Arranged nursery rhymes in the style of Handel Manuel de Falla Composer Nights in the Gardens of Spain, Ritual Fire Dance W. C. Fields Writer Jane Findlater Writer Dion Fortune Writer and occultist The Demon Lover, The Winged Bull, The Goat-Foot God, The Sea Priestess Wanda Gág Children's book author, artist, translator and illustrator Millions of Cats Gerhart Hauptmann Writer, Nobel Prize laureate The Weavers, Bahnwärter Thiel (De) Patty Hill Songwriter Happy Birthday to You (with sister Mildred J. Hill, who predeceased her) Violet Jacob Writer and poet John Maynard Keynes Economist A Treatise on Money Hermann von Keyserling Philosopher Otis Adelbert Kline Literary agent and science fiction writer Paul Langevin Physicist Henri Le Fauconnier Painter Józef Mehoffer Painter and decorative artist Adolph de Meyer Photographer László Moholy-Nagy Painter and photographer Light-Space Modulator Paul Nash Painter/photographer Mikhail Nesterov Copyright term in Russia is extended by 4 years for authors who fought in or worked during the 1941-1945 war. Painter Feliks Nowowiejski Composer Rota (music)Clemente PalmaAuthor Júlio Prestes Politician Damon Runyon Writer and newspaperman Abel Salazar (scientist) Scientist and Painter Alice Sauvrezis Composer Ernest Thompson Seton Writer and wildlife artist Wild Animals I Have KnownMay Sinclair Writer Václav Špála Painter Léon Spilliaert Painter Gertrude Stein Writer The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, Three LivesKarl Hans Strobl Author and editor Harry Von Tilzer Songwriter Ziegfeld Follies Frona Eunice Wait Author and newspaper writer Wines and Vines of California George Henry Weiss Writer of science fiction and poetry The Night People H. G. Wells Writer The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man Stewart Edward White Writer and spiritualist Cornel Simanjuntak Songwriter Maju Tak Gentar, Sorak-Sorak Bergembira, Bungaku, Indonesia Tetap Merdeka, Ku Pinta Lagi, Maju IndonesiaAlfred Rosenberg Politician, writer The Myth of the Twentieth Century Paul Zech Poet Die lasterhaften Balladen und Lieder des François Villon Heinrich Freiherr von Stackelberg Economist Marktform und Gleichgewicht
Entering the public domain in countries with life + 50 years 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 Death Occupation Notable work Ralph Allen Writer, journalist Peace River Country Lauro Ayestarán Musicologist La música en el UruguayAndré BretonWriter, poetSurrealist ManifestoJan Brzechwa Poet Deems Taylor Composer, music critic Walt Disney Filmmaker C. S. Forester WriterHoratio Hornblower, The African Queen, The General Lloyd Garrett Tenor, composer Alberto Giacometti 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 Politician, Journalist Olhinto María Simoes Poet, journalist La sombra de los plátanosCordwainer SmithScience fiction writer, professor, military officerPsychological Warfare, Norstrilia, Scanners Live in Vain, Alpha Ralpha Boulevard, A Planet Named ShayolEvelyn Waugh WriterVile Bodies, A Handful of DustMohamed Fawzi Singer, MusicianKassamanMohamed El Qasabgi MusicianRaq El HabibBadie' Khayri PlaywrightHassan wa Murqus wa CohenLekhnath Paudyal1966PoetTarun TapasiSayyid Qutb WriterMa'alim fi al-Tariq, Fi Zilal al-Quran
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 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 would come out of copyright until 1 January 2026 (those who died in 1955).
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. The exception are unpublished and unregistered works, which are subject to 70 years after the death of the creator, as above.
Worldwide The Australian band King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard released their 2017 album Polygondwanaland into the public domain.
On the 7th of February 2017, the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced it will release 375,000 images into the public domain.
See also 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 1946 in literature, 1956 in literature, 1966 in literature and 1976 in literature
Lists of authors Authors listed in Wikidata who died in 1946 Over 300 public domain authors available in Wikisource (any language), with descriptions from Wikidata
References