2020 in public domain
When a work's copyright expires, it enters the public domain. The following is a list of works that 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 and Spain, 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 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 |
| :s:Author:James Truslow Adams|James Truslow Adams |  United States | 18.10.1878 | 18.05.1949 | Writer | The March of Democracy |
| :s:Author:Virginia M. Alexander|Virginia M. Alexander | United States | Physician | Publications | ||
| Hervey Allen | United States | 08.12.1889 | 28.12.1949 | Author | Anthony Adverse |
| Masaharu Anesaki |  Japan | 25.07.1873 | 23.07.1949 | Historian | History of Japanese Religion |
| :s:Author:Mary Antin|Mary Antin | United States | 13.06.1881 | 15.05.1949 | Writer | The Promised Land |
| Josef Maria Auchentaller | 02.08.1865 | 31.12.1949 | Artist | Bunte Bände | |
| Alice Bailey | United States | 16.06.1880 | 15.12.1949 | Writer | Works |
| Hassan al-Banna |  Egypt | 14.10.1906 | 12.02.1949 | imam | Mudhakkirât al-da'wa wa al-dâ'iya |
| Philip Barry |  United States | 18.06.1896 | 03.12.1949 | Playwright | Holiday |
| :s:Author:Rex Beach|Rex Beach | United States | 01.09.1877 | 07.12.1949 | Writer, Olympic athlete | The Spoilers |
| H. Bedford-Jones | United States | 29.04.1887 | 06.05.1949 | Writer | The John Solomon Series |
| Khalil Beidas | 1874 | 1949 | novelist | Works | |
| Federico Beltrán Masses |  Spain | 08.09.1885 | 04.10.1949 | Painter | |
| Friedrich Bergius |  Germany | 11.10.1884 | 30.03.1949 | Chemist | Bergius process |
| Elsa Bernstein |  Austria | 28.10.1866 | 02.07.1949 | Writer | Königskinder |
| Musa Bigiev | 25.12.1873 | 28.10.1949 | Theologian | Selected works | |
| Elisheva Bikhovski | 20.09.1888 | 27.03.1949 | Writer, Translator | Simta'ot | |
| :s:Author:Gustavus M. Blech|Gustavus M. Blech | United States | 28.11.1870 | 09.08.1949 | Physician | Practical Suggestions in Borderland Surgery |
| Leonard Bloomfield | United States | 01.04.1887 | 18.04.1949 | Linguist | Selected publications |
| Robert Boudrioz |  France | 12.02.1887 | 22.06.1949 | Film director, screenwriter | The Man with a Broken Ear |
| Umberto Brunelleschi |  Italy | 21.06.1879 | 16.02.1949 | Artist, Illustrator | |
| Guillermo Buitrago | 01.04.1920 | 19.04.1949 | Composer | La Vispera de Año Nuevo | |
| Harry Burleigh | United States | 02.12.1866 | 12.09.1949 | Composer, singer | settings of spirituals |
| Helen Churchill Candee | United States | 05.10.1858 | 23.08.1949 | Writer, feminist | Angkor the Magnificent |
| N. D. Cocea | 29.11.1880 | 01.02.1949 | Journalist, Novelist | Vinul de viață lungă | |
| Richard Connell | United States | 17.10.1893 | 22.11.1949 | Writer | The Most Dangerous Game |
| Carlo Conti Rossini | 1872 | 1949 | Orientalist | Italia ed Etiopia dal trattato di Uccialli alla battaglia d'Adua | |
| Dorothea Conyers | 11.11.1869 | 25.05.1949 | Novelist | ||
| Will Cuppy | United States | 23.08.1884 | 19.09.1949 | Humorist | How to be a Hermit |
| Stoyan Danev | 28.01.1858 | 30.07.1949 | Jurist and politician | ||
| Norman Davey |  United Kingdom | 05.05.1888 | 06.06.1949 | Engineer, Writer | The Pilgrim of a Smile |
| Félix d'Herelle | France | 25.04.1873 | 22.02.1949 | Microbiologist | Published works |
| Georgi Dimitrov | 18.06.1882 | 02.07.1949 | Politician, revolutionary | Georgi Dimitrov bibliography | |
| Grigoraș Dinicu |  Romania | 03.04.1889 | 28.03.1949 | Composer | Hora staccato |
| Ali Douagi | 04.01.1909 | 27.05.1949 | sketch artist | Sahirtu minhu al-layali | |
| Alexander Drankov | | 18.01.1886 | 03.01.1949 | photographer, cameraman, film producer | |
| William Price Drury | United Kingdom | 08.11.1861 | 21.01.1949 | Writer, soldier, politician | The Flag Lieutenant |
| Inés Echeverría Bello | 1868 | 1949 | Writer | Entre Deux Mondes | |
| Arthur Eichengrün | Germany | 13.08.1867 | 23.12.1949 | Chemist | 50 Jahre Aspirin |
| 16.09.1877 | 01.03.1949 | novelist | Silkkilaiva | ||
| James Ensor | 13.04.1860 | 19.11.1949 | Artist | Christ's Entry Into Brussels in 1889 | |
| Herbert Eulenberg | Germany | 25.01.1876 | 04.09.1949 | Writer | Schattenbilder. Eine Fibel für Kulturbedürftige in Deutschland |
| August Fischer | Germany | 14.02.1865 | 14.02.1949 | Orientalist | Arabische Chrestomathie aus Prosaschriftstellern |
| Victor Fleming | 23.02.1889 | 06.01.1949 | Film Director | The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind | |
| James Forrestal | United States | 15.02.1892 | 22.05.1949 | Politician | The Forrestal Diaries |
| Nikolay Gamaleya |  Russia | 17.02.1859 | 29.03.1949 | Physician, microbiologist | |
| Henri Giraud | France | 18.01.1879 | 11.03.1949 | General | Mes Evasions, Un seul but; la victoire: Alger 1942-1944 |
| Russia | 11.12.1903 | 20.01.1949 | Poet | Song about Shchors | |
| 04.09.1889 | 30.10.1949 | Orientalist | El amor entre los musulmanes españoles, El tesoro de los Nazaríes | ||
| Hari Singh Gour | 26.11.1870 | 25.12.1949 | Jurist, educator, writer | The Penal Law of India | |
| Martin Grabmann | Germany | 05.01.1875 | 09.01.1949 | Priest, Historian | Thomas Aquinas: His Personality and Thought |
| Stanisław Grabski | 05.04.1871 | 06.05.1949 | Economist, Politician | ||
| Major Greenwood | 09.08.1880 | 05.10.1949 | Epidemiologist | Publications | |
| Joan Lamote de Grignon | Spain | 07.07.1872 | 11.03.1949 | Composer | La nit de Nadal |
| George Gurdjieff | 13.01.1866 | 29.10.1949 | spiritual teacher | The Herald of Coming Good | |
| František Halas | 03.10.1901 | 27.10.1949 | Poet, translator | ||
| Fritz Hart | United Kingdom | 11.02.1874 | 09.07.1949 | Composer, conductor | |
| Syed Zafarul Hasan | 14.02.1885 | 19.06.1949 | Philosopher | Realism | |
| Kunihiko Hashimoto | Japan | 14.09.1904 | 06.05.1949 | Composer | Azami no Hana |
| Will Hay | United Kingdom | 06.12.1888 | 18.04.1949 | Comedian, amateur astronomer | Through My Telescope |
| Burton J. Hendrick | United States | 08.12.1870 | 23.03.1949 | Author | The Life and Letters of Walter H. Page |
| Johann Jakob Hess | Germany | 11.01.1866 | 29.04.1949 | Egyptologist | Von den Beduinen des inneren Arabiens |
| Ludwig Hohlwein | Germany | 27.07.1874 | 15.09.1949 | Poster artist | |
| William Jackson Humphreys | United States | 03.02.1862 | 10.11.1949 | physicist | Bibliography |
| Otto Hupp | 21.05.1859 | 31.01.1949 | graphical artist | Wappen und Siegel der deutschen Städte, Flecken und Dörfer | |
| Douglas Hyde | 17.01.1860 | 12.07.1949 | linguist | The necessity for de-anglicising the Irish nation | |
| Edmond Jaloux | 19.06.1878 | 22.08.1949 | Novelist | Works | |
| Josep Maria Jujol | 16.09.1879 | 01.05.1949 | Architect | Casa Batlló, Park Güell | |
| Austria | 22.01.1886 | 12.10.1949 | Writer | Die Mutter der Neun | |
| Pierre Jouguet | France | 14.05.1869 | 09.07.1949 | Egyptologist | Works |
| Unno Juza | Japan | 26.12.1897 | 17.05.1949 | Writer of science fiction | |
| Anna Karima | 06.03.1949 | Writer and translator | |||
| Selâhattin Kantar | 1878 | 17.11.1949 | playwright | Kara Dana | |
| Hugh Kingsmill | 21.11.1889 | 15.05.1949 | Writer, journalist | ||
| Martin Knudsen | 15.02.1871 | 27.05.1949 | Physicist | The Kinetic Theory of Gases | |
| József Koszta | 27.03.1861 | 29.07.1949 | Painter | Girl with Geraniums | |
| :de:Fritz Krischen|Fritz Krischen | Germany | 26.12.1881 | 15.07.1949 | Archaeologist, Architect | Die Stadtmauern von Pompeji und griechische Festungsbaukunst in Unteritalien und Sizilien |
| August Krogh |  Denmark | 15.11.1874 | 13.09.1949 | Zoologist | The Respiratory Exchange of Animals and Man |
| Albert Christian Kruyt |  Netherlands | 10.10.1869 | 19.01.1949 | Ethnographer | The Bare'e speaking Toraja of Central Sulawesi |
| Lead Belly | United States | 20.01.1888 | 06.12.1949 | Musician, songwriter | Goodnight, Irene |
| Vasily Lebedev-Kumach | Russia | 05.08.1898 | 20.02.1949 | Poet | The Sacred War |
| Fidelio Ponce de León | 24.01.1895 | 19.02.1949 | Painter | Niňos | |
| :de:Ernst Lommatzsch|Ernst Lommatzsch | Germany | 18.08.1871 | 05.04.1949 | 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 | 1888 | 13.05.1949 | Writer | Cuentos De Mi Tia Panchita | |
| Antonio Machado | 26.07.1875 | 22.02.1939 | Poet | Works | |
| Maurice Maeterlinck | 29.08.1862 | 06.05.1949 | Playwright | Works | |
| René Maire | France | 29.05.1878 | 24.11.1949 | botanist | Flore de l'Afrique du Nord |
| Tan Malaka | 02.06.1897 | 21.02.1949 | Guerrilla, Philosopher | Madilog | |
| Jane Mander | 09.04.1877 | 20.12.1949 | Novelist | The Story of a New Zealand River | |
| Klaus Mann | Germany | 18.11.1906 | 21.05.1949 | Novelist | Mephisto |
| J. C. Mardrus | France | 1868 | 1949 | Orientalist | Works |
| :de:Paul Marc|Paul Marc | Germany | 23.12.1877 | 23.09.1949 | Byzantine scholar | Die hellenistisch-jüdische Literatur |
| :de:Wilhelm von Massow |Wilhelm von Massow | Germany | 12.03.1891 | 21.04.1949 | Archaeologist | Das römische Trier |
| Elton Mayo | 26.12.1880 | 07.09.1949 | Psychologist | Publications | |
| Ibrahim al-Mazini | 19.08.1889 | 1949 | Writer | Spider Webs | |
| Stefan Meyer | 27.04.1872 | 29.12.1949 | Physicist | Radioaktivität | |
| Margaret Mitchell | United States | 08.11.1900 | 16.08.1949 | Novelist | Gone with the Wind |
| Axel Munthe | 31.10.1857 | 11.02.1949 | Psychiatrist | The Story of San Michele | |
| Khalil Mutran | 01.07.1872 | 01.06.1949 | poet | ||
| Sarojini Naidu | 13.02.1879 | 02.03.1949 | Poet | Works | |
| Vladimir Nazor | 30.05.1876 | 19.06.1949 | Poet, politician | ||
| Makino Nobuaki | 24.11.1861 | 25.01.1949 | Statesman | Makino Nobuaki nikki | |
| Vítězslav Novák |  Czech Republic | 05.12.1870 | 18.07.1949 | Composer | Bouře |
| Carlos Obligado | 21.05.1889 | 03.02.1949 | Writer, critic | March of the Malvinas | |
| Sidney Olcott | 20.09.1872 | 16.12.1949 | Film director | The Pony Express | |
| Francesco Pasinetti | Italy | 01.06.1911 | 02.04.1949 | Film Director, screenwriter | The Canal of the Angels |
| Elin Pelin | 08.07.1877 | 03.12.1949 | Writer | ||
| Una Pope-Hennessy | United Kingdom | 21.04.1875 | 16.08.1949 | Historian | Secret Societies and the French Revolution |
| Camillo Praschniker | Austria | 13.10.1884 | 01.10.1949 | Archaeologist | Archäologische Forschungen in Albanien und Montenegro |
| Guillermo Tell Villegas Pulido | 28.07.1854 | 25.07.1949 | politician | Works | |
| Alfred Rehder | United States | 04.09.1863 | 25.07.1949 | Botanist | Manual of Cultivated Trees and Shrubs, Hardy in North America |
| Albert Rehm | Germany | 15.06.1871 | 31.07.1949 | Classical scholar | Mythographische Untersuchungen über griechische Sternsagen |
| Gennaro Righelli | Italy | 12.12.1886 | 06.01.1949 | Film director, screenwriter | Svengali |
| Tod Robbins | United States | 1888 | 1949 | writer | Works |
| Julius Ruska | Germany | 09.02.1867 | 11.02.1949 | Orientalist | Al Razi als Chemiker |
| Antoun Saadeh |  Lebanon | 01.03.1904 | 08.07.1949 | Politician | Nushu' al-Umam |
| Paul Schultze-Naumburg | 10.06.1869 | 19.05.1949 | Architect | Die Kunst der Deutschen. Ihr Wesen und ihre Werke | |
| Alexander Serafimovich | Russia | 07.01.1863 | 19.01.1949 | Writer | The Iron Flood |
| Alexey Shchusev | Russia | 08.10.1873 | 24.05.1949 | Architect | Lenin's Mausoleum |
| Nikos Skalkottas | 21.03.1904 | 19.09.1949 | Composer | List of compositions by Nikos Skalkottas | |
| G. E. M. Skues | United Kingdom | 13.08.1858 | 09.08.1949 | Writer, fly fisherman | The Way of a Trout with the Fly |
| Frank Smythe | United Kingdom | 06.07.1900 | 27.06.1949 | Mountaineer, author, photographer | The Kangchenjunga Adventure |
| Edith Somerville |  Ireland | 02.05.1858 | 08.10.1949 | Novelist | The Irish R.M. |
| :de:Otto Stählin|Otto Stählin | Germany | 22.01.1868 | 14.06.1949 | Classical scholar | Die hellenistisch-jüdische Literatur |
| Edward Stettinius | 22.10.1900 | 31.10.1949 | Politician | Roosevelt and the Russians | |
| Herbert Stothart | United States | 11.09.1885 | 01.02.1949 | Composer, songwriter, conductor | Score for The Wizard of Oz |
| Richard Strauss | 11.06.1864 | 08.09.1949 | Composer | List of compositions | |
| Harry Stack Sullivan | United States | 21.02.1892 | 14.01.1949 | Psychiatrist | Works |
| Ali Mahmoud Taha | Egypt | 03.08.1901 | 17.11.1949 | Poet | Nights of the Lost Sailor, Palestine |
| Edward Thorndike | 31.08.1874 | 09.08.1949 | Psychologist | Works | |
| Joaquín Torres-García | 28.07.1874 | 08.08.1949 | Artist, writer | ||
| Gancho Tsenov | 06.06.1870 | Historian | |||
| Joaquín Turina | Spain | 09.12.1882 | 14.01.1949 | Composer | Danzas fantásticas |
| Uemura Shōen | Japan | 23.04.1875 | 27.08.1949 | Artist | Jo-no-mai |
| Sigrid Undset | 20.05.1882 | 10.06.1949 | Novelist | Works | |
| Shabbir Ahmad Usmani | 11.10.1887 | 13.12.1949 | theologian | Fathul Mulhim Sharh Sahih Muslim | |
| Raimond Valgre | 31.10.1913 | 31.12.1949 | composer, musician | ||
| Josef Velenovský | 22.04.1858 | 07.05.1949 | botanist | Works | |
| Oswald Garrison Villard | United States | 13.03.1872 | 01.10.1949 | Journalist, civil rights activist | John Brown 1800-1859: A Biography Fifty Years After |
| Rosy Wertheim | Netherlands | 19.02.1888 | 27.05.1949 | Composer | |
| Elin Wägner | 16.05.1882 | 07.01.1949 | Novelist | The Penholder | |
| E. H. Young | United Kingdom | 21.03.1880 | 08.08.1949 | Novelist and children's writer | |
| Arthur Leo Zagat | 15.02.1896 | 03.04.1949 | Writer, lawyer | ||
| Nikola Zhekov | 06.01.1864 | 01.11.1949 | General | Memoirs | |
| Oton Župančič | 23.01.1878 | 11.06.1949 | Writer, translator | Ciciban | |
| Chairil Anwar | 26.07.1922 | 28.04.1949 | Writer,poet | Deru Campur Debu, Kerikil-Kerikil Tajam dan yang Terampas dan yang Putus, Tiga Menguak Takdir |
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 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 | 10.03.1906 | 26.08.1969 | Writer | Ako ang Daigdig | |
| Sargis Abrahamyan | 28.12.1915 | 15.06.1969 | Writer | With Generations | |
| Theodor W. Adorno | Germany | 11.09.1903 | 06.08.1969 | Philosopher | Theodor W. Adorno bibliography |
| Ricardo Aguirre | 09.05.1939 | 08.11.1969 | Singer, Composer | La Grey Zuliana | |
| Ignacio Aldecoa | Spain | 25.07.1925 | 15.11.1969 | Author | El fulgor y la sangre |
| Ikbal Ali Shah | 12.07.1894 | 04.11.1969 | Writer, diplomat | Afghanistan of the Afghans | |
| Edgar Anderson | United States | 09.11.1897 | 18.06.1969 | Botanist | Introgressive Hybridization |
| Charlotte Armstrong | United States | 02.05.1905 | 07.07.1969 | Author | A Dram of Poison |
| Marius Barbeau | 05.03.1883 | 27.02.1969 | Ethnographer | Downfall of Temlaham | |
| Daniel E. Barbey | United States | 23.12.1889 | 11.03.1969 | Naval Officer | MacArthur's Amphibious Navy |
| Arthur K. Barnes | United States | 06.12.1909 | 11.03.1969 | Science-Fiction Writer | Works |
| Emilio Bigi | 01.07.1910 | 28.05.1969 | Musician | Renacer guarani | |
| Charles Brackett | United States | 26.11.1892 | 09.03.1969 | Novelist, Screenwriter | |
| Gabriel Chevallier | France | 03.05.1895 | 06.04.1969 | Novelist | Clochemerle |
| Ivy Compton-Burnett | United Kingdom | 05.06.1884 | 27.08.1969 | Novelist | Manservant and Maidservant |
| Richmal Crompton | United Kingdom | 15.11.1890 | 11.01.1969 | Writer, Teacher | Just William series |
| Alexandra David-Néel | , | 24.10.1868 | 08.09.1969 | Explorer, Spiritualist | Mystiques et magiciens du Tibet |
| Aleksandr Deyneka | 20.05.1899 | 12.06.1969 | Artist | The Defense of Petrograd | |
| Otto Dix | Germany | 02.12.1891 | 25.07.1969 | Artist | The Trench |
| Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg | Germany | 10.10.1873 | 05.08.1969 | explorer, politician | Ins innerste Afrika |
| Max Eastman | United States | 04.01.1883 | 25.03.1969 | Writer | Reflections on the Failure of Socialism |
| Dwight D. Eisenhower | 14.10.1890 | 28.03.1969 | Military Officer, statesman | Crusade in Europe | |
| Abo El Seoud El Ebiary | Egypt | 09.11.1910 | 17.03.1969 | Playwright, songwriter | Afrita hanem |
| Olivia FitzRoy | United Kingdom | 27.05.1921 | 24.12.1969 | Author of children's books | Orders to Poach |
| Botong Francisco |  Philippines | 04.11.1912 | 31.03.1969 | Muralist | The Progress of Medicine in the Philippines |
| Karl Freund | Germany | 16.01.1890 | 03.05.1969 | Cinematographer, film director | The Mummy |
| Rómulo Gallegos | 02.08.1884 | 05.04.1969 | Novelist, politician | Doña Bárbara | |
| Witold Gombrowicz |  Poland | 04.08.1904 | 24.07.1969 | Writer, playwright | Ferdydurke |
| Walter Gropius | Germany | 18.05.1883 | 05.07.1969 | Architect | Bauhaus |
| Wendell Hall | United States | 23.08.1896 | 02.04.1969 | Singer-songwriter | It Ain't Gonna Rain No Mo' |
| Karl Jaspers | Germany | 23.02.1883 | 26.02.1969 | Psychiatrist, Philosopher | General Psychopathology |
| Jack Kerouac | United States | 12.03.1922 | 21.10.1969 | Writer | On the Road |
| Norman Lindsay | 22.02.1879 | 21.11.1969 | Artist, Writer | The Magic Pudding | |
| Frank Loesser | United States | 29.06.1910 | 28.07.1969 | Songwriter | Baby, It's Cold Outside, A Bushel and a Peck |
| Erika Mann | Germany | 05.11.1905 | 27.08.1969 | Writer, actress | Zehn Millionen Kinder. Die Erziehung der Jugend im Dritten Reich |
| Gavin Maxwell | United Kingdom | 15.07.1914 | 07.09.1969 | Author | Ring of Bright Water |
| Leo McCarey | United States | 03.10.1898 | 05.07.1969 | Film director, screenwriter | The Bells of St. Mary's |
| Jimmy McHugh | United States | 10.07.1894 | 23.05.1969 | Composer | South American Way |
| Meher Baba | 25.02.1894 | 31.01.1969 | Mystic | God Speaks | |
| Mikio Naruse | Japan | 20.08.1905 | 02.07.1969 | Film director, screenwriter | Apart from You |
| Mutesa II of Buganda | 19.11.1924 | 21.11.1969 | Statesman | The Desecration of My Kingdom | |
| Seabury Quinn | United States | 24.12.1969 | Author, lawyer | Roads | |
| August Sang | 27.07.1914 | 14.10.1969 | Poet | Üks noormees otsib õnne | |
| Muhammad Shahidullah | 10.07.1885 | 13.07.1969 | Writer, philologist | Bangla Sahityer Katha | |
| Ben Shahn | United States | 12.09.1898 | 14.03.1969 | Artist | Jersey Homesteads Mural |
| Osbert Sitwell | United Kingdom | 06.12.1892 | 04.05.1969 | Writer | Before the Bombardment |
| Josef von Sternberg | United States | 29.05.1894 | 22.12.1969 | Film director | Shanghai Express |
| Leonard Woolf | United Kingdom | 25.11.1880 | 14.08.1969 | writer, publisher | The Village in the Jungle |
| John Wyndham | United Kingdom | 10.07.1903 | 11.03.1969 | 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. 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.Unpublished works by authors who died in 1949 entered the public domain on 1 January 2020. Any published literary, artistic, dramatic, or musical work by a not generally known author 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. 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.
- Unpublished works whose authors died in 1949.