2025 in 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 2025. 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 For previously unpublished material, those who publish it first will have the publication rights for 25 years.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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Franco Alfano | ![]() | 8 March 1875 | 27 October 1954 | Composer | List of operas by Franco Alfano |
Ahmad Amin | ![]() | 1 October 1886 | 30 May 1954 | Writer | Dawn of Islam |
Oswald de Andrade | ![]() | 11 January 1890 | 22 October 1954 | Writer | Manifesto Antropófago |
Bruno Angoletta | ![]() | 7 September 1889 | 7 January 1954 | Cartoonist | Marmittone |
Peter van Anrooy | ![]() | 13 October 1879 | 31 December 1954 | Composer | Piet Hein Rhapsodie voor symfonieorkest |
John L. Balderston | ![]() | 22 October 1889 | 8 March 1954 | Playwright | Berkeley Square, Dracula |
Lionel Barrymore | ![]() | 28 April 1878 | 15 November 1954 | Actor, film director | Lionel Barrymore on stage, screen and radio |
Jacinto Benavente | ![]() | 12 August 1866 | 14 July 1954 | Writer | The Unloved Woman |
Frans G. Bengtsson | ![]() | 4 October 1894 | 19 December 1954 | Writer | The Long Ships |
Hakon Børresen | ![]() | 2 June 1876 | 6 October 1954 | Composer | Den Kongelige Gæst |
Vitaliano Brancati | ![]() | 24 July 1907 | 25 September 1954 | Writer | Don Giovanni in Sicilia |
Walter Braunfels | ![]() | 19 December 1882 | 19 March 1954 | Composer | Die Vögel |
Claude Cahun | ![]() | 25 October 1894 | 8 December 1954 | Photographer, writer | Disavowals or Cancelled Confessions |
Robert Capa | ![]() | 22 October 1913 | 25 May 1954 | Photographer | The Falling Soldier |
Enrico Cavacchioli [it] | ![]() | 15 March 1885 | 4 January 1954 | Writer | Works |
Papa Celestin | ![]() | 1 January 1884 | 15 December 1954 | Musician | Papa Celestin's Golden Wedding |
Colette | ![]() | 28 January 1873 | 3 August 1954 | Writer | Gigi |
Julian Coolidge | ![]() | 28 September 1873 | 5 March 1954 | Mathematician | A Treatise on the Circle and the Sphere |
Stig Dagerman | ![]() | 5 October 1923 | 4 November 1954 | Writer, journalist | A Burnt Child |
Jibanananda Das | ![]() | 17 February 1899 | 22 October 1954 | Poet | Banalata Sen |
André Derain | ![]() | 10 June 1880 | 8 September 1954 | Painter, sculptor | Mountains at Collioure |
Carl Eldh | ![]() | 10 May 1873 | 26 January 1954 | Sculptor | The Branting Monument |
Leonard Eugene Dickson | ![]() | 22 January 1874 | 17 January 1954 | Mathematician, writer | History of the Theory of Numbers |
Enrico Fermi | ![]() ![]() | 29 September 1901 | 28 November 1954 | Physicist | Publications |
Arthur Fickenscher | ![]() | 9 March 1885 | 15 April 1954 | Composer and academic | Willowwood |
Bud Fisher | ![]() | 3 April 1885 | 7 September 1954 | Cartoonist | Mutt and Jeff |
Miles Franklin | ![]() | 14 October 1879 | 19 September 1954 | Writer | My Brilliant Career |
Wilhelm Furtwängler | ![]() | 10 June 1880 | 8 September 1954 | Conductor, composer | Symphony No. 2 |
E. Ray Goetz | ![]() | 12 June 1886 | 12 June 1954 | Composer, lyricist | "For Me and My Gal" |
Heinz Guderian | ![]() | 17 June 1888 | 14 May 1954 | Military officer, writer | Achtung – Panzer!, Panzer Leader |
Niqula Haddad | ![]() | 1878 | 1954 | Writer | |
Jack Harvey | ![]() | 16 September 1881 | 9 November 1954 | Film director | A Dog's Love |
Ferenc Herczeg | ![]() | 22 September 1863 | 24 February 1954 | Writer | A Gyurkovics-lányok |
James Hilton | ![]() | 9 September 1900 | 20 December 1954 | Writer | Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Lost Horizon |
Raymond Hubbell | ![]() | 1 June 1879 | 13 December 1954 | Composer, lyricist | "Poor Butterfly" |
Charles Ives | ![]() | 20 October 1874 | 19 May 1954 | Composer | List of compositions by Charles Ives |
Hans Janowitz | ![]() | 2 December 1890 | 25 May 1954 | Screenwriter | The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari |
Norbert Jacques | ![]() | 6 June 1880 | 15 May 1954 | Writer | Dr. Mabuse |
Arthur Johnston | ![]() | 10 January 1898 | 1 May 1954 | Composer | "Cocktails for Two", "Pennies from Heaven" |
Frida Kahlo | ![]() | 6 July 1907 | 13 July 1954 | Painter | List of paintings by Frida Kahlo |
Mikhas Klimkovich | ![]() | 20 November 1899 | 5 November 1954 | Poet | "My Belarusy" |
Kalki Krishnamurthy | ![]() | 9 September 1899 | 5 December 1954 | Writer | Ponniyin Selvan |
Henri Laurens | ![]() | 18 February 1885 | 5 May 1954 | Sculptor | L'Amphion |
Alphonse Laverrière | ![]() | 16 May 1872 | 11 March 1954 | Architect | Bois-de-Vaux Cemetery |
Alain LeRoy Locke | ![]() | 13 September 1885 | 9 June 1954 | Writer | The New Negro |
Achille Longo | ![]() | 28 March 1900 | 28 May 1954 | Composer | Compositions |
Gino Loria | ![]() | 19 May 1862 | 30 January 1954 | Mathematician | Books |
William March | ![]() | 18 September 1893 | 15 May 1954 | Writer | Company K |
Henri Matisse | ![]() | 31 December 1869 | 3 November 1954 | Painter, sculptor | List of works by Henri Matisse |
Joe May | ![]() | 7 November 1880 | 29 April 1954 | Film director | Stuart Webbs |
George McManus | ![]() | 23 January 1884 | 22 October 1954 | Cartoonist | Bringing Up Father |
Zofia Nałkowska | ![]() | 10 November 1884 | 17 December 1954 | Writer | Medallions |
Martin Andersen Nexø | ![]() | 26 June 1869 | 1 June 1954 | Writer | Pelle the Conqueror |
Herms Niel | ![]() | 17 April 1888 | 16 July 1954 | Composer | "Erika" |
Auguste Perret | ![]() | 12 February 1874 | 25 February 1954 | Architect | Théâtre des Champs-Élysées |
Washington Phillips | ![]() | 11 January 1880 | 20 September 1954 | Singer | List of songs recorded by Washington Phillips |
Fred Raymond | ![]() | 20 April 1900 | 10 January 1954 | Composer | "I Lost My Heart in Heidelberg", Maske in Blau |
Fred Rose | ![]() | 24 August 1898 | 1 December 1954 | Songwriter | "Be Honest with Me" |
Oscar Straus | ![]() | 6 March 1870 | 11 January 1954 | Composer | Ein Walzertraum |
Getúlio Vargas | ![]() | 19 April 1882 | 24 August 1954 | Politician | Carta Testamento |
Alan Turing | ![]() | 23 June 1912 | 7 June 1954 | Mathematician | Turing's proof |
William Van Alen | ![]() | 10 August 1883 | 24 May 1954 | Architect | Chrysler Building |
Dziga Vertov | ![]() | 2 January 1896 | 12 February 1954 | Film director | Man with a Movie Camera |
Thea von Harbou | ![]() | 27 December 1888 | 1 July 1954 | Writer, film director | List of works by Thea von Harbou |
Hermann Wolfgang von Waltershausen | ![]() | 12 October 1882 | 14 June 1954 | Composer | Oberst Chabert |
Hella Wuolijoki | ![]() | 22 July 1886 | 2 February 1954 | Writer | Entäs nyt, Niskavuori? |
Francis Brett Young | ![]() | 29 June 1884 | 28 March 1954 | Writer | List of novels of Francis Brett Young |
Zhang Shichuan | ![]() | 1890 | 1954 | Film director | Laborer's Love |
Countries with life + 60 years
In Bangladesh, India, and Venezuela a work enters the public domain 60 years after the creator's death.
Names | Country | Birth | Death | Occupation | Notable work |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bharathidasan | ![]() | 29 April 1891 | 21 April 1964 | Poet | "Tamil Thai Valthu" |
Birinchi Kumar Barua | ![]() | 16 October 1908 | 30 March 1964 | Scholar, writer | |
Carlos Brandt | ![]() | 11 October 1875 | 27 February 1964 | Writer | |
Guru Dutt | ![]() | 9 July 1925 | 10 October 1964 | Film director | Pyaasa |
Mushtaq Hussain Khan | ![]() | 1878 | 13 August 1964 | Musician | |
Jawaharlal Nehru | ![]() | 14 November 1889 | 27 May 1964 | Politician | An Autobiography |
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jean Absil | ![]() | 23 October 1893 | 2 February 1974 | Composer | |
Gilbert Archey | ![]() | 4 August 1890 | 20 October 1974 | Zoologist | The Moa, a Study of the Dinornithiformes |
Miguel Ángel Asturias | ![]() | 19 October 1899 | 9 June 1974 | Poet-diplomat | El Señor Presidente |
Farid al-Atrash | ![]() | 1917 | 26 December 1974 | Composer | |
Kurt Atterberg | ![]() | 12 December 1887 | 15 February 1974 | Composer | Compositions |
H. E. Bates | ![]() | 16 May 1905 | 29 January 1974 | Writer | The Darling Buds of May |
Erick Berry | ![]() | 4 January 1892 | February 1974 | Writer | The Winged Girl of Knossos |
Bobby Bloom | ![]() | 15 January 1946 | 28 February 1974 | Singer-songwriter | "Montego Bay" |
Hector Bolitho | ![]() | 28 May 1897 | 12 September 1974 | Writer | Albert the Good and the Victorian Reign |
Buddhadeb Bosu | ![]() | 1908 | 1974 | Writer | |
Nellie Coad | ![]() | 15 October 1883 | 6 September 1974 | Teacher, writer | |
Phillis Emily Cunnington | ![]() | 1 November 1887 | 24 October 1974 | Physician, historian | Handbook of English Mediaeval Costume |
Maurice Duggan | ![]() | 25 November 1922 | 11 December 1974 | Writer | Summer in the Gravel Pit |
Duke Ellington | ![]() | 29 April 1899 | 24 May 1974 | Composer | Duke Ellington discography |
Julius Evola | ![]() | 19 May 1898 | 11 June 1974 | Philosopher | Revolt Against the Modern World |
Allal al-Fassi | ![]() | 10 January 1910 | 13 May 1974 | Writer | The Independence Movements in Arab North Africa |
Dorothy Fields | ![]() | 15 January 1946 | 28 February 1974 | Film lyricist | "The Way You Look Tonight" |
Louise Fitzhugh | ![]() | 5 October 1928 | 19 November 1974 | Writer | Harriet the Spy |
Georgette Heyer | ![]() | 16 August 1902 | 4 July 1974 | Writer | List of works by Georgette Heyer |
Ali Ismael | ![]() | 28 December 1922 | 16 June 1974 | Composer | Fida'i |
Marie Luise Kaschnitz | ![]() | 31 January 1901 | 10 October 1974 | Writer | Menschen und Dinge 1945 |
Erich Kästner | ![]() | 23 February 1899 | 29 July 1974 | Poet, screenwriter | Emil and the Detectives |
Muhammad Ayub Khan | ![]() | 14 May 1907 | 19 April 1974 | Politician | Books |
Pär Lagerkvist | ![]() | 23 May 1891 | 11 July 1974 | Writer | Barabbas |
Eve Langley | ![]() | 1 September 1904 | 1 June 1974 | Writer | The Pea-Pickers |
Eric Linklater | ![]() | 8 March 1899 | 7 November 1974 | Writer, poet | The Wind on the Moon |
Walter Lippmann | ![]() | 23 September 1889 | 14 December 1974 | Writer | Public Opinion |
Margaret MacPherson | ![]() | 19 June 1895 | 14 September 1974 | Writer, journalist | A Symposium Against War |
P. Schuyler Miller | ![]() | 21 February 1912 | 13 October 1974 | Writer | |
Stanley Mullen | ![]() | 20 June 1911 | 1974 | Artist, writer | Kinsmen of the Dragon |
Leslie Munro | ![]() | 26 February 1901 | 13 February 1974 | Politician, writer | United Nations: hope for a divided world |
Douglas Robb | ![]() | 1899 | 1974 | Physician, writer | Medical Odyssey |
William Sloane | ![]() | 15 August 1906 | 25 September 1974 | Writer | To Walk the Night |
Zaharia Stancu | ![]() | 7 October 1902 | 5 December 1974 | Writer | Through the Ashes of the Empire |
Sheila Stuart | ![]() | 1892 | 1974 | Writer | Alison's Highland Holiday |
Jacqueline Susann | ![]() | 20 August 1918 | 21 September 1974 | Writer | Valley of the Dolls |
Sándor Szathmári | ![]() | 29 June 1897 | 16 July 1974 | Writer, mechanical engineer | Kazohinia |
Robert Charles Zaehner | ![]() | 8 April 1913 | 24 November 1974 | Scholar | Zurvan, Mysticism, Our Savage God |
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Enrique Díez Canedo | ![]() | 7 January 1879 | 6 June 1944 | Poet | |
Joaquín Álvarez Quintero | ![]() | 20 January 1873 | 14 June 1944 | Playwright | |
Antonio Videgain | ![]() | 10 March 1869 | 9 February 1944 | Composer |
Australia and 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 (British and possibly other) 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 does not revive expired copyright.[2][3] No more new Canadian authors will come out of copyright until 1 January 2043 (those who died in 1972). Crown copyright was not changed, thus any government works published in 1974 will enter the public domain in 2025.[4]
United States
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Cocoanuts_lobby_card.jpg/220px-Cocoanuts_lobby_card.jpg)
Under the Copyright Term Extension Act, books and other works published in 1929 and films released in 1929 will enter the public domain in 2025.[5] Sound recordings that were published in 1924 will also enter the public domain.[6] The characters Buck Rogers,[7] Captain Easy[8], Horace Horsecollar and Popeye the Sailor Man will enter the public domain in 2025.[9] The same happens for the first Tarzan strips illustrated by Hal Foster that were launched in 1929.[8]
Unpublished works whose authors died in 1954 will enter the public domain in 2025.
Among the films that will enter public domain in 2025 are the following:
- The Cocoanuts, the first film of the Marx Brothers
- The Broadway Melody, the second recipient of the Academy Award for Best Picture
- Spite Marriage, Buster Keaton's final full-length feature as a director
- Welcome Danger, Harold Lloyd's first sound film
- On with the Show!, the first sound film in color
- The Taming of the Shrew, the first Shakespeare film adaptation with sound
- Hallelujah, the first Hollywood film with an all-black cast
- The Cock-Eyed World, sequel to What Price Glory? (1926)
- Show Boat, containing some songs from the 1927 musical
- Blackmail, Alfred Hitchcock's first sound film
- Atlantic, the first sound film about the Titanic disaster
- The Return of Sherlock Holmes, the first sound film to star the character of Sherlock Holmes
- Behind That Curtain, the first sound film to star the character Charlie Chan
- The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu, the first sound film to star the character of Fu Manchu
- Bulldog Drummond, the first sound film to star the character Bulldog Drummond
- The Three Masks (Les trois masques), the first French sound film
- Land Without Women (Das Land ohne Frauen), the first German sound film
- Woman in the Moon (Frau im Mond), directed by Fritz Lang
- Pandora’s Box (Die Büchse der Pandora) and Diary of a Lost Girl (Tagebuch einer Verlorenen), both directed by G. W. Pabst and starring Louise Brooks
- Drifters, a documentary film about Britain's North Sea herring fishery
- Un chien Andalou, directed by Luis Bunuel and cowritten by Salvador Dali
- The Mysteries of the Chateau of Dice (Les mystères du Château du Dé), directed by Man Ray
- Rain, a Dutch documentary short
- Sound versions of the Mickey Mouse cartoons The Gallopin' Gaucho, Plane Crazy and The Karnival Kid (in which Mickey speaks his first words), and the first Silly Symphony cartoons, including The Skeleton Dance.
Examples of important literary works entering the public domain include Ernest Hemingway's novel A Farewell to Arms, William Seabrook's novel The Magic Island (the first book to introduce the concept of a zombie). Ellery Queen's detective novel The Roman Hat Mystery, Margery Allingham detective novel The Crime at Black Dudley, the first English translation of Erich Maria Remarque's novel All Quiet on the Western Front, Alfred Döblin's novel Berlin Alexanderplatz in its original German, Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay's novel Pather Panchali in its original Bengali, Lynd Ward's graphic novel Gods' Man, William Faulkner's novel The Sound and the Fury, Virginia Woolf's essay A Room of One's Own, Ludwig Wittgenstein's essay Some Remarks on Logical Form and the first part of the 14th edition of Encyclopædia Britannica (full in public domain by 2029).
Important artworks entering the public domain include René Magritte's painting The Treachery of Images, Salvador Dali's paintings The Great Masturbator and The Accommodations of Desire, Wassily Kandinsky's painting Upward, Edward Hopper's painting Chop Suey, Kawamura Kiyoo's painting Founding of the Nation, Julio Romero de Torres' painting La Fuensanta, August Sander's photograph Berlin Coal Carrier and the first design of the Barcelona chair.
See also
- 1954 in literature and 1974 in literature for deaths of writers
- Public Domain Day
- Creative Commons
References
- ^ "How long does copyright last?". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
- ^ "An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 7, 2022 and other measures". Parliament of Canada. 2022-06-23. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
- ^ "PC Number: 2022-1219". Government of Canada. 2022-11-17. Retrieved 2022-11-28.
- ^ "Crown Copyright - FAQ". Government of Canada. www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
- ^ "Copyright and the Public Domain". Public Domain Information Project. Archived from the original on 2014-08-01. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
- ^ Hirtle, Peter B. (3 January 2020). "Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States". Cornell University Library Copyright Information Center. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
- ^ "The Notable Properties Entering the Public Domain This Decade | License Global". www.licenseglobal.com. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
- ^ a b "Public Domain: Mickey and More in '24 - The Daily Cartoonist". www.dailycartoonist.com. 2023-12-19. Retrieved 2024-01-16.
- ^ "Eat Your Spinach with a Side of Public Domain". Harris County Robert W. Hainsworth Law Library. 2021-03-26. Archived from the original on 2021-03-26. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
External links
Media related to Undelete in 2025 at Wikimedia Commons
- "Authors by Year of Death – 1954". AuthorAndBookInfo.com.
- Popular Books of 1929 at Goodreads