When a work's copyright expires, it enters the public domain. Since laws vary globally, the copyright status of some works are not uniform. The following is a list of creators whose works enter the public domain in 2036 under the most common copyright regimes, assuming no further extensions to copyright terms become law in the interim.
Countries with life + 70 years
Except for Belarus (Life + 50 years) and Spain (which has a copyright term of Life + 80 years for creators that died before 1988), a work enters the public domain in Europe 70 years after the creator's death, if it was published during the creator's lifetime. In addition, several other countries have a limit of 70 years. The list is sorted alphabetically and includes a notable work of the creator.
NamesCountryDeathOccupationNotable workAhn Eak-taiComposerAegukga, Symphonic Fantasy KoreaKatharine AnthonyBiographerThe LambsJacques AudibertiPlaywright, poet, novelistMartin BuberPhilosopherI and ThouThornton W. BurgessChildren's book authorWinston ChurchillPrime Minister of the United KingdomThe Second World War, A History of the English-Speaking PeoplesThomas B. CostainJournalistMaria DąbrowskaNovelist, essayist, playwrightNoce i dnieT. S. EliotPoet, essayist, playwrightWorksWalter Evans-WentzAnthropologistEnglish translation of The Tibetan Book of the DeadEleanor FarjeonChildren's writer and poet"Morning Has Broken"Lorraine HansberryJournalist, playwrightA Raisin in the SunJohn Davy HaywardLiterary editor, bibliophileShirley JacksonNovelist, short story writer"The Lottery", Life Among the Savages, The Haunting of Hill HouseRandall JarrellPoet, novelistPictures from an InstitutionDorothy KilgallenNewspaper columnist and journalistPercy LubbockEssayist, critic, biographerW. Somerset MaughamNovelist, dramatist, short story writerWorksJohn MetcalfeNovelist, short story writerBetty MillerWriter, journalist, novelistEdgar MittelholzerNovelistFan S. NoliBishop and poetPark Su-geunPainterWoman Pounding Grain, A Wash Place, Old Tree and WomanEdogawa RanpoWriter of mystery storiesSyngman RheePresident of South KoreaThe Spirit of IndependenceAksel SandemoseNovelistArthur M. Schlesinger Sr.HistorianJack SpicerPoetHoward SpringNovelistT. S. StriblingNovelistJun'ichirō TanizakiNovelistComposerBarley Field, The Leaf Boat, Gwangbokjeol song
Countries with life + 60 years
In Bangladesh, India, and Venezuela a work enters the public domain 60 years after the creator's death. NamesCountryDeathOccupationNotable workJohn AkarEntertainer, writer, diplomatHigh We Exalt Thee, Realm of the FreeLeroy AndersonComposerSleigh Ride, Blue Tango, The Typewriter, The Syncopated ClockIvo AndrićWriter, PoetThe Bridge on the DrinaPablo AntonioArchitectIdeal Theater, Life Theater, White Cross Orphanage, Capitan Luis Gonzaga BuildingHannah ArendtWriter, Political philosopherThe Human Condition, Eichmann in JerusalemMikhail BakhtinPhilosopherProblems of Dostoevsky's Poetics, Rabelais and His WorldThomas Hart BentonPainterJames BlishWriterCities in Flight, Star Trek novelizationsArthur BlissComposerCompositionsTim BuckleyGuitarist, Singer, SongwriterDiscographyChiang Kai-shekPresident of the Republic of ChinaChina's Destiny ()Luigi DallapiccolaComposerCompositionsLefty FrizzellSinger, SongwriterDiscographyKonstantine GamsakhurdiaWriterThe Right Hand of the Grand MasterFernando Guillén MartínezJournalist, historian, essayistBob MontanaCartoonist, ArtistArchieBernard HerrmannComposerFilm scoresEdna Mayne HullScience fiction author Planets for SaleJulian HuxleyEvolutionary biologistWorksRowland V. LeeDirector, Actor, Screenwriter, ProducerMurray LeinsterWriterBibliography Herbert List Photographer Collection at Deutsche Fotothek Composer Fanfare after 17th Century DancesElijah MuhammadLeader of the Nation of IslamMessage to the Blackman in AmericaEfraín Orozco MoralesMusician, composer""Pier Paolo PasoliniFilm directorThe Gospel According to St. Matthew, Salò, or the 120 Days of SodomSheikh Mujibur RahmanPoliticianBooksJacqueline NovaMusician, composerSarvepalli RadhakrishnanPhilosopher, President of IndiaThe Dhammapada, The Principal UpanishadsAlfred Hamish ReedWriter, publisher The Gumdiggers: The Story of Kauri GumLuis Ariel ReyMusician, songwriter Maria Elizabeth Rothmann Author Nora Sanderson Romance writer Hospital in New ZealandRod SerlingScreenwriter, Playwright, Television producerThe Twilight ZoneR. C. SherriffPlaywright, writerJourney's End, The Hopkins ManuscriptDmitri ShostakovichComposerCompositionsNoble SissleJazz composer, LyricistShuffle Along, I'm Just Wild About HarryChristopher StracheyComputer scientistCPL, Fundamental Concepts in Programming Languages Bill Sutch Economist Poverty and Progress in New Zealand, The Quest for Security in New Zealand Alejandro Tovar Musician, composer ""Arnold J. ToynbeeHistorianA Study of HistoryThornton WilderPlaywright, NovelistThe Bridge of San Luis Rey, Our TownP. G. WodehousePlaywright, NovelistBibliography Fritz Wotruba Sculptor Wotruba Church Giselda Zani Poet, short story writer, critic Roger Lescot1975Orientalist, diplomat, researcher of KurdishKang Sheng16 December 1975Politician, caligrapher
Countries with life + 50 years In most countries of Africa and Asia, as well as Belarus, Bolivia, New Zealand, Egypt and Uruguay, a work enters the public domain 50 years after the creator's death. NamesCountryDeathOccupationNotable work Alvah Bessie Novelist, screenwriter Objective, Burma! László Bíró Journalist, inventor Heinrich Böll Novelist and Nobel Laureate in Literature Fernand Braudel Historian Hedley Bull Economist Basil Bunting Poet "Briggflatts" Edward Buzzell Film director Lucien Cailliet Composer, arranger, conductor Taylor Caldwell Novelist Dynasty of Death Mihail Celarianu Poet, novelist James Hadley Chase Thriller novelist Radha Krishna Choudhary Historian, philosopher Sigerson Clifford Poet, playwright, civil servant Lester Cole Screenwriter Nikos Engonopoulos Poet Robert Graves Novelist, poet, critic Leonard Gribble Novelist The Arsenal Stadium Mystery Geoffrey Grigson Poet, critic Carl Joachim Hambro Novelist, essayist, philologist James Hanley Novelist, dramatist Boy, The Furys Henry Hathaway Filmmaker Alfred Hayes Novelist, poet, screenwriter "Joe Hill" Hu Feng Novelist Lawrence Hauben Screenwriter One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Talbot Jennings Screenwriter Mutiny on the Bounty Alex La Guma Novelist, political activist A Soviet Journey, Time of the Butcherbird Philip Larkin Poet The Whitsun Weddings, High Windows Saunders Lewis Writer, broadcaster Johnny Marks Songwriter, composer "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day", "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" Karl Julius Marx Composer, music teacher Uku Masing Religious philosopher, linguist, writer Josephine Miles Poet, literary critic Albert Maltz Screenwriter Elsa Morante Novelist La storia Robert Nathan Novelist, poet The Bishop's Wife, Portrait of Jennie D. J. Opperman Poet Joe Oriolo Animator Casper the Friendly Ghost, Felix the Cat Ernst Orvil Novelist, poet, playwright John Paxton Screenwriter Crossfire Leslie Paul Novelist Alexis Rannit Poet, critic Kate Roberts Writer Feet in Chains Denise Robins Romantic novelist Heinz Roemheld Composer Hilding Rosenberg Composer, conductor Fran Ross Satirist Oreo Morrie Ryskind Screenwriter Carl Schmitt Political theorist Roger Sessions Composer Paul Smith Composer Incidental scores for The Walt Disney Studios D. I. Suchianu Essayist, translator, social scientist, film theorist Diane Thomas Screenwriter Romancing the Stone Wanda Tuchock Film director and screenwriter Elwood Ullman Screenwriter The Three Stooges films Hilda Vaughan Novelist, short story writer Tom Waldman Film and television screenwriter J. M. Wallace-Hadrill Historian Judah Waten Novelist Alien Son, Distant Land Orson Welles Playwright, director, writer, actor Citizen Kane John Wexley Playwright, screenwriter, novelist E. B. White Children's book author, writer on style Sara Woods Crime fiction writer
Countries with life + 80 years
Spain has a copyright term of life + 80 years for creators that died before 1988. In Colombia and Equatorial Guinea, a work enters the public domain 80 years after the creator's death.
NamesCountryDeathOccupationNotable workConcha EspinaWriterBibliographyEusebio OchoaComposer, musician"El profesor de canto"José Ortega y GassetPhilosopher, EssayistWorks
United States
Under the Copyright Term Extension Act, books published in 1940, films released in 1940, and other works published in 1940 will enter the public domain in 2036. Sound recordings published in 1935 and unpublished works whose authors died in 1965 will also enter the public domain.
Notable live-action films entering the public domain in 2036 include Alfred Hitchcock's Best Picture Academy Award winner Rebecca starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine, John Ford's adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath with Henry Fonda, George Cukor's The Philadelphia Story with Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, Charlie Chaplin's satirical comedy The Great Dictator, Kitty Foyle starring Ginger Rogers, Nazi propaganda films The Eternal Jew, Bismarck, The Heart of Queen, The Fox of Glenarvon, Wunschkonzert and Jud Süß, William Wyler's The Westerner with Gary Cooper, Preston Sturges' The Great McGinty, Walter Lang's Tin Pan Alley, Jack Conway's Boom Town with Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy, Cecil B. DeMille's North West Mounted Police, Busby Berkeley's Strike Up the Band with Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, The Fighting 69th starring James Cagney, Michael Curtiz's Santa Fe Trail with Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland, the British film The Thief of Bagdad (which is notable for its innovative use of the chroma key process), and Abbott and Costello's first film One Night in the Tropics. Significant animated films entering the public domain include Walt Disney's Pinocchio and Fantasia, Tex Avery's cartoon A Wild Hare which officially launched the career of Bugs Bunny, Knock Knock with the debut of Woody Woodpecker, the first Tom and Jerry cartoon Puss Gets the Boot (with the characters under their respective initial identities as "Jasper and Jinx"), the Looney Tunes cartoon You Ought to Be in Pictures with Porky Pig and Daffy Duck, and the Donald Duck cartoon Mr. Duck Steps Out which marked the debut of the character Daisy Duck, the last member of Disney's "Sensational Six" to enter the public domain.
Among the literary works entering the public domain are Ernest Hemingway's novel For Whom the Bell Tolls, Agatha Christie's crime novels Sad Cypress and One, Two, Buckle My Shoe, Carson McCullers' novel The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, Raymond Chandler's novel Farewell, My Lovely, Graham Greene's novel The Power and the Glory, Richard Wright's novel Native Son, Bertolt Brecht's play Mr Puntila and his Man Matti in its original German, Dr. Seuss's Horton Hatches the Egg introducing its titular elephant character, C. S. Lewis's nonfiction work The Problem of Pain, the Hardy Boys novel The Disappearing Floor, the Nancy Drew novel The Mystery of the Brass Bound Trunk, and the first issues of science fiction magazine Fantastic Novels. The earliest iterations of DC Comics' superheroes Robin, The Flash, the Green Lantern, Hawkman, The Spectre, and The Atom, and of its core supervillains The Joker, Catwoman, and Lex Luthor, will also enter the public domain. Additionally, the original incarnation of one of Marvel Comics' most culturally-enduring superheroes, Captain America, who debuted in 1941, enters the public domain in 2036 instead of 2037 because his first comic book carries a 1940 copyright registration. The registration for Captain America's debut comic is on page 22 of the catalog.