The following is a list of works that entered the public domain on 1 January 2022. When copyright expires in a creative work, it enters the public domain. Since copyright terms vary from country to country, the copyright status of a work may not be the same in all countries.

Countries with life + 70 years[edit]

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 its creator's death, if it was published during their lifetime. For previously unpublished material, those who publish it first retain the publication rights for 25 years. The list is sorted alphabetically and includes a notable work of the creator’s that entered the public domain on 1 January 2022.

Other countries with a copyright term of life + 70 years are Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Uruguay, Peru, Paraguay, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Japan, Russia, Indonesia, Israel, Armenia, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Singapore, South Korea, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Madagascar, Mozambique, Senegal, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan.

Names	Country	Birth	Death	Occupation	Notable work
Louis Adamic	United States	23 March 1898	4 September 1951	Writer	Dynamite: The Story of Class Violence in America
Bartlett Adamson	Australia	22 December 1884	4 November 1951	Journalist, writer, and political activist
Jyoti Prasad Agarwala	India	17 June 1903	17 January 1951	Film director, playwright, writer	Joymoti
Choudhry Rahmat Ali	Pakistan	16 November 1897	3 February 1951	Jurist	Pakistan Declaration
Muhammad Ali	India	1874	13 October 1951	Writer
Egbert Van Alstyne	United States	4 March 1878	9 July 1951	Composer	"In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree", "Pretty Baby"
Aram Andonian	Armenia	1875	23 December 1951	Writer	The Memoirs of Naim Bey
Leopold Andrian	Austria	9 May 1875	19 November 1951	Writer
Henry W. Armstrong	United States	22 July 1879	28 February 1951	Composer	"Sweet Adeline"
Numa Ayrinhac	Argentina	5 September 1881	23 March 1951	Painter
Resurrección María de Azkue	Spain	5 August 1864	9 November 1951	Writer
Mohammad-Taqi Bahar	Iran	10 December 1886	22 April 1951	Poet
R. H. Barlow	United States	18 May 1918	2 January 1951	Writer, anthropologist
Sarah Jane Baines	Australia	30 November 1866	20 February 1951	Feminist, suffragette, social reformer
Jacques de Baroncelli	France	25 June 1881	12 January 1951	Film director
Gaspar Agüero Barreras	Cuba	15 February 1873	18 May 1951	Pianist, composer
Pramathesh Barua	India	24 October 1903	29 November 1951	Film director, actor, writer
Daisy Bates	Australia	16 October 1859	18 April 1951	Journalist, welfare worker
Celadet Alî Bedirxan	Turkey	26 April 1893	1951	Writer, linguist
Frank Weston Benson	United States	24 March 1862	15 November 1951	Painter	List of works by Frank Weston Benson
Jørgen Bentzon	Denmark	14 February 1897	9 July 1951	Composer
Konstantin Biebl	Czech Republic	26 February 1898	12 November 1951	Poet
Leo Birinski	Germany	8 June 1884	23 October 1951	Playwright, screenwriter, film director
Dorothea Foster Black	Australia	23 December 1891	13 September 1951	Painter and printmaker
Algernon Blackwood	United Kingdom	14 March 1869	10 December 1951	Journalist, writer	Incredible Adventures, "The Willows", "The Wendigo" and The Doll and One Other
Thomas Blamey	Australia	24 January 1884	27 May 1951	Soldier
Francisco Boix	Spain	31 August 1920	7 July 1951	Photographer	Photographs of Mauthausen concentration camp
Ivanoe Bonomi	Italy	18 October 1873	20 April 1951	Politician
Stephen Bonsal	United States	29 March 1865	8 June 1951	Journalist, writer
Tadeusz Borowski	Poland	12 November 1922	3 July 1951	Writer, journalist
Herman Charles Bosman	South Africa	5 February 1905	14 October 1951	Writer
Alfred-Alphonse Bottiau	France	6 February 1889	25 February 1951	Sculptor
James Bridie	Scotland	3 January 1888	29 January 1951	Playwright, screenwriter, physician
Hermann Broch	Austria	1 November 1886	30 May 1951	Writer	The Sleepwalkers, The Death of Virgil
Gelett Burgess	United States	30 January 1866	18 September 1951	Writer	"Purple Cow"
Abraham Cahan	United States	7 July 1860	31 August 1951	Writer	The Rise of David Levinsky
Amy Carmichael	Ireland	16 December 1867	18 January 1951	Writer
John Alden Carpenter	United States	28 February 1876	26 April 1951	Composer
Ethel Carrick	Australia	7 February 1872	17 June 1951	Artist
Émile Chartier	France	3 March 1868	2 June 1951	Writer
Alphonse de Châteaubriant	France	25 March 1877	2 May 1951	Writer	Monsieur des Lourdines, La Brière
Edfwin Cheel	Australia	14 February 1872	19 September 1951	Botanist, collector
Peter Cheyney	United Kingdom	22 February 1896	26 June 1951	Writer	Lemmy Caution, Slim Callaghan
Ben Chifley	Australia	22 September 1885	13 June 1951	Politician
Cho Ki-chon	North Korea	6 November 1913	31 July 1951	Poet
Gendün Chöphel	Tibet	1903	1951	Writer, poet
Al Christie	Canada	23 October 1881	14 April 1951	Film director
Halfdan Cleve	Norway	5 October 1879	6 April 1951	Composer
Christabel Cockerell	United Kingdom	1864	18 March 1951	Painter
Charles Pearce Coleman	Australia	22 December 1885	8 March 1951	Actor
Edith Coleman	Australia	29 July 1874	3 June 1951	Naturalist
Cara David	Australia	26 April 1856	25 December 1951	Educator, feminist, social reformer
Wilfrid de Glehn	United Kingdom	1870	11 May 1951	Painter
Nirupama Devi	India	7 May 1883	7 January 1951	Writer
Enrique Santos Discépolo	Argentina	27 March 1901	23 December 1951	Composer, director
Hans Andrias Djurhuus	Faroe Islands	20 October 1883	6 May 1951	Poet, writer
Lloyd C. Douglas	United States	27 August 1877	13 February 1951	Writer, pastor	Magnificent Obsession, The Robe
Georgios Drossinis	Greece	9 December 1859	3 January 1951	Writer
Frank DuMond	United States	20 August 1865	6 February 1951	Illustrator, painter
József Egry	Hungary	1883	1951	Painter
Mário Eloy	Portugal	15 March 1900	5 September 1951	Painter
Anastasia Eristavi-Khoshtaria	Georgia	3 February 1868	1 May 1951	Writer
John Erskine	United States	5 October 1879	2 June 1951	Writer, composer	The Moral Obligation to Be Intelligent
'Abd al-'Aziz Fahmi [it]	Egypt	23 December 1870	1951	Poet
Georgy Fedotov	Russia	1 October 1886	1 September 1951	Writer
Fei Mu	China	10 October 1906	31 January 1951	Film director	Spring in a Small Town
Jerzy Fitelberg	United States	20 May 1903	25 April 1951	Composer
Kristo Floqi	Albania	24 May 1876	1 July 1951	Playwright, politician
John Flynn	Australia	25 November 1880	5 May 1951	Minister, aviator
Josef Bohuslav Foerster	Czech Republic	30 December 1859	29 May 1951	Composer	List of compositions by Josef Bohuslav Foerster
Robert J. Flaherty	United States	16 February 1884	23 July 1951	Filmmaker	Nanook of the North
Pietro Frosini	Italy	9 August 1885	2 September 1951	Musician, composer
Gao Jianfu	China	1879	1951	Painter
André Gide	France	22 November 1869	19 February 1951	Writer	Bibliography of André Gide
Bert Grant	United States	12 July 1878	9 May 1951	Composer
María Grever	Mexico	14 September 1885	15 December 1951	Composer	"What a Diff'rence a Day Makes"
René Guenon	France	15 November 1886	7 January 1951	Philosopher and Sufi Scholar	The Reign of Quantity and the Signs of the Times
Jacinto Guerrero	Spain	16 August 1895	15 September 1951	Composer
James Norman Hall	United States	22 April 1887	5 July 1951	Writer	Mutiny on the Bounty
Ebbe Hamerik	Denmark	5 September 1898	12 August 1951	Composer
Tamiki Hara	Japan	15 November 1905	13 March 1951	Writer	Summer Flower
Fumiko Hayashi	Japan	31 December 1903	28 June 1951	Writer	Bangiku
Józef Hecht	Poland	14 December 1891	19 June 1951	Printmaker, painter
Sadegh Hedayat	Iran	17 February 1903	9 April 1951	Writer, poet	The Blind Owl, The Stray Dog
Thomas N. Heffron	United States	13 June 1872	24 May 1951	Film director
Geoffrey Forrest Hughes	Australia	12 July 1885	13 September 1951	Aviator
Herman Hupfeld	United States	1 February 1894	8 June 1951	Songwriter	"As Time Goes By", "Let's Put Out the Lights (and Go to Sleep)"
Jenő Illés	Hungary	28 January 1879	17 October 1951	Film director
Ernest Ludvig Ipsen	United States	5 September 1869	2 November 1951	Painter
George Jeske	United States	22 February 1891	28 October 1951	Film director
Tor Jonsson	Norway	14 May 1916	14 January 1951	Poet
Gustave-Henri Jossot	France	16 April 1866	7 April 1951	Illustrator, painter
Robert Kahn	Germany	21 July 1865	29 May 1951	Composer
Alfrēds Kalniņš	Latvia	23 August 1879	23 December 1951	Composer
Karl Maria Kaufmann [de]	Germany	2 March 1872	6 February 1951	Archeologist
Kim Dong-in	Korea	2 October 1900	5 January 1951	Writer
Kim Myeong-sun	Korea	20 January 1896	22 June 1951	Writer
Kitawaki Noboru	Japan	4 June 1901	18 December 1951	Painter
Tyra Kleen	Sweden	29 June 1874	17 September 1951	Writer
Georg af Klercker	Sweden	15 December 1877	13 November 1951	Film director	South of the Highway
Katarzyna Kobro	Poland	26 January 1898	21 February 1951	Avant-garde sculptor
Alexander Krein	Soviet Union	20 October 1883	25 April 1951	Composer
Kwee Tek Hoay	Indonesia	31 July 1886	4 July 1951	Writer	List of works by Kwee Tek Hoay
Constant Lambert	United Kingdom	23 August 1905	21 August 1951	Composer	List of compositions by Constant Lambert
Louis Lavelle	France	15 July 1883	1 September 1951	Philosopher
Ernestina Lecuona	Cuba	16 January 1882	3 September 1951	Pianist, composer
Henri-René Lenormand	France	3 May 1882	16 February 1951	Playwright
Sinclair Lewis	United States	7 February 1885	10 January 1951	Writer	Main Street, Babbitt, Arrowsmith
J. C. Leyendecker	United States	23 March 1874	25 July 1951	Illustrator	The Arrow Collar Man
Heinz von Lichberg	Germany	1890	14 March 1951	Writer	"Lolita"
Benito Lynch	Argentina	25 July 1885	23 December 1951	Writer	The Caranchos of Florida, The Englishman of the Bones, The Romance of a Gaucho
Ana Aurora do Amaral Lisboa (pt)	Brazil	24 September 1860	22 March 1951	Poet
Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim	Finland	4 June 1867	27 January 1951	Politician, memoirist
Homero Manzi	Argentina	1 November 1907	3 May 1951	Writer
Edwin L. Marin	United States	21 February 1899	2 May 1951	Film director
Konstantin Märska	Estonia	28 May 1896	30 August 1951	Film director
Nellie McClung	Canada	20 October 1873	1 September 1951	Writer
Nikolai Medtner	Russia	5 January 1880	13 November 1951	Composer	List of compositions by Nikolai Medtner
Oscar Micheaux	United States	2 January 1884	25 March 1951	Writer, director
Hasrat Mohani	India	14 October 1875	13 May 1951	Independence activist, poet
Giuseppe Mulè	Italy	28 June 1885	10 September 1951	Composer
Takashi Nagai	Japan	3 February 1908	1 May 1951	Writer	The Bells of Nagasaki
Nam Cao	Vietnam	1915	1951	Writer
Ștefan Neaga	Moldova	7 December 1900	30 May 1951	Composer	Anthem of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic
Ndoc Nikaj	Albania	15 June 1864	16 January 1951	Writer
Ivor Novello	United Kingdom	15 January 1893	6 March 1951	Composer	"Keep the Home Fires Burning"
Selim Palmgren	Finland	16 February 1878	13 December 1951	Composer, pianist
Pyotr Pavlenko	Soviet Union	11 July 1899	16 June 1951	Writer
Scott Pembroke	United States	13 September 1889	21 February 1951	Film director
Brian Penton	Australia	21 August 1904	24 August 1951	Journalist, novelist	Landtakers
Felix Petyrek	Austria	14 May 1892	1 December 1951	Composer
Andrei Platonov	Soviet Union	28 August 1899	5 January 1951	Writer	The Foundation Pit
Ľudmila Podjavorinská	Slovakia	26 April 1872	2 March 1951	Writer, poet
Clara Katharina Pollaczek	Austria	15 January 1875	22 July 1951	Writer
Voydan Popgeorgiev – Chernodrinski	Bulgaria	15 January 1875	8 January 1951	Playwright, writer	Macedonian Blood Wedding
George Henry Powell	United Kingdom	27 April 1880	3 December 1951	Songwriter	"Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag"
Paula von Preradović	Austria	12 October 1887	25 May 1951	Writer	National anthem of Austria
James Peter Quinn	Australia	4 December 1869	18 February 1951	Painter
Assen Razcvetnikov	Bulgaria	2 November 1897	30 July 1951	Writer
Godofredo Rangel	Brazil	21 November 1884	4 August 1951	Writer, translator
Gholamreza Rashid-Yasemi	Iran	1895	1951	Poet
Cattamanchi Ramalinga Reddy	India	10 December 1880	24 February 1951	Educator, writer
Henri Rivière	France	11 March 1864	24 August 1951	Painter
Sigmund Romberg	United States	29 July 1887	9 November 1951	Composer
Phil Rosen	United States	8 May 1888	22 October 1951	Film director
Georges Hanna Sabbagh	France	1877	1951	Painter
Pedro Salinas	Spain	27 November 1891	4 December 1951	Poet
Harry Schmidt	Germany	21 June 1894	7 September 1951	Mathematician
Artur Schnabel	Austria	17 April 1882	15 August 1951	Classical pianist, composer	Artur Schnabel's recordings of Beethoven's piano sonatas
Arnold Schoenberg	Austria United States	13 September 1874	13 July 1951	Composer, music theorist	List of compositions by Arnold Schoenberg
Percival Serle	Australia	18 July 1871	16 December 1951	Writer
Robert Seton-Watson	United Kingdom	20 August 1879	25 July 1951	Historian
Levon Shant	Armenia	6 April 1869	29 November 1951	Playwright
Angelos Sikelianos	Greece	28 March 1884	19 June 1951	Poet, playwright
S. Sylvan Simon	United States	9 March 1910	17 May 1951	Film director
Houcine Slaoui	Morocco	1921	1951	Musician
John Sloan	United States	2 August 1871	7 September 1951	Painter
Pamela Colman Smith	United Kingdom	16 February 1878	18 September 1951	Illustrator	Rider–Waite tarot deck
Henry De Vere Stacpoole	Ireland	9 April 1863	12 April 1951	Writer	The Blue Lagoon
Paul L. Stein	Austria	4 February 1892	2 May 1951	Film director
Arthur Szyk	Poland	16 June 1894	13 September 1951	Illustrator
Abanindranath Tagore	India	7 August 1871	5 December 1951	Painter, writer
Maila Talvio	Finland	17 October 1871	6 January 1951	Writer
Mary Tannahill	United States	11 January 1863	21 June 1951	Painter
Nikoghayos Tigranian	Armenia	31 August 1856	17 February 1951	Composer
Timrava	Slovakia	2 October 1867	27 November 1951	Writer
Marcel Tournier	France	5 January 1879	8 May 1951	Composer
Walter Trier	Germany	25 June 1890	8 July 1951	Illustrator	Illustration of Emil and the Detectives and Lilliput covers
Manuel Ugarte	Argentina	1875	1951	Writer
Jan Valtin	Germany	4 May 1907	14 January 1951	Writer, covert agent
Maxence Van der Meersch	France	4 May 1907	14 January 1951	Writer
Vsevolod Vishnevsky	Soviet Union	21 December 1900	28 February 1951	Playwright
Henrik Visnapuu	Estonia	2 January 1890	3 April 1951	Poet
Will Vodery	United States	8 October 1885	18 November 1951	Composer
Volodymyr Vynnychenko	Ukraine	28 July 1880	6 March 1951	Writer, playwright
Richard Wallace	United States	26 August 1894	3 November 1951	Film director
Jean-Jacques Waltz	France	23 February 1873	10 June 1951	Illustrator
Nik Welter	Luxembourg	2 January 1871	13 July 1951	Writer
Ludwig Wittgenstein	Austria United Kingdom	26 April 1889	29 April 1951	Philosopher	Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, Philosophical Investigations
Wols	Germany	27 May 1913	1 September 1951	Painter, photographer
Gregorios Xenopoulos	Greece	9 December 1867	14 January 1951	Writer
Miyamoto Yuriko	Japan	13 February 1899	21 January 1951	Writer
Corrado Zoli	Italy	3 January 1877	8 December 1951	Writer
Hermynia Zur Mühlen	Austria	12 December 1883	20 March 1951	Writer, translator

Countries with life + 60 years[edit]

Names	Country	Birth	Death	Occupation	Notable work
Mazo de la Roche	Canada	15 January 1879	12 July 1961	Writer	Jalna
Dashiell Hammett	United States	6 April 1896	4 February 1961	Writer	The Continental Op, Sam Spade, Nick and Nora Charles
Hazel Heald	United States	6 April 1896	4 February 1961	Writer
Ernest Hemingway	United States	21 July 1899	2 July 1961	Writer	Ernest Hemingway bibliography
Clark Ashton Smith	United States	6 April 1896	4 February 1961	Writer	Clark Ashton Smith bibliography

Countries with life + 50 years[edit]

In most countries of Africa and Asia, as well as Belarus, Bolivia, Canada, New Zealand, Egypt and Uruguay, a work enters the public domain 50 years after its creator's death.

Names	Country	Birth	Death	Occupation	Notable work
Kate Aitken	Canada	6 April 1891	11 December 1971	Broadcaster	Books
Ya'qoub Al-Oudat	Jordan	1909	23 September 1971	Poet, Biographer	Biography of Mustafa Wahbi et-Tull
John W. Campbell	United States	8 June 1910	11 July 1971	Author and editor	Who Goes There?
Brock Chisholm	Canada	18 May 1896	4 February 1971	Psychiatrist	Works
August Derleth	United States	24 February 1909	4 July 1971	Author and anthologist	August Derleth bibliography
Abd El-Razzak El-Sanhuri	Egypt	11 August 1895	21 July 1971	Legal scholar	Al-Waseet fil Qanun
Gerardo Gombau [es]	Spain	3 August 1886	13 December 1971	Composer
Helmy Halim	Egypt	6 March 1916	18 November 1971	Director	Our Beautiful Days
Abdul Jabbar Jomard	Iraq	December 1909	30 November 1971	Historian, Poet
Reginald Alec Martin	United Kingdom	January 1908	27 June 1971	Children's writer	Kemlo
Janka Maŭr	Belarus	11 May 1883	3 August 1971	Children’s writer, translator
Ghulam Rasool Mehr	Pakistan	13 April 1895	16 November 1971	Muslim scholar	Books
Jim Morrison	United States	8 December 1943	3 July 1971	Musician	The Doors discography
Ogden Nash	United States	19 August 1902	19 May 1971	Poet	Bibliography of Ogden Nash
Andre Ryder	Greece Egypt	10 August 1908	5 March 1971	Musician
Tawfīq Sāyigh [ar]	Palestine	1923	1971	Poet
Stevie Smith	United Kingdom	20 September 1902	7 March 1971	Poet, Novelist	Works
Igor Stravinsky	Russia	17 June 1882	6 April 1971	Composer	List of compositions by Igor Stravinsky
Frank Underhill	Canada	26 November 1889	16 September 1971	Historian	Upper Canadian Politics in the 1850s
Philip Wylie	United States	12 May 1902	25 October 1971	Author	Gladiator

Australia[edit]

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 British 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]

Countries with life + 80 years[edit]

Spain, Colombia and Equatorial Guinea has a copyright term of life + 80 years. For Spain this is for creators who died before 1987. The list is sorted alphabetically and includes a notable work of the creator's that entered the public domain on 1 January 2022.

Names	Country	Birth	Death	Occupation	Notable work
Prudenci Bertrana	Spain	19 January 1867	21 November 1941	Writer	Entre la terra i els núvols
Henry Justice Ford	United Kingdom	1860	1941	Artist and illustrator	Lang's Fairy Books
James Joyce	Ireland	2 February 1882	13 January 1941	Writer	Ulysses, Dubliners and Finnegans Wake
José Fernández del Villar [es]	Spain	26 December 1888	2 April 1941	Playwright	Plays
Hugh Walpole	United Kingdom	13 March 1884	1 June 1941	Author	Rogue Herries, The Cathedral and The Dark Forest
Virginia Woolf	United Kingdom	25 January 1882	28 March 1941	Author	Mrs Dalloway, Orlando and The Waves

United States[edit]

All sheet music published in 1926 entered the public domain.^[2] Under the Music Modernization Act, tens of thousands of sound recordings that were published before 1923 entered the public domain on 1 January 2022.^[3][4] The Library of Congress says that this will result in "Increased public and online access to previously unavailable recordings and expanded opportunities to explore the earliest days of our sound recording heritage."^[3] Sound recordings that were first published after December 31, 1922 have not yet entered the public domain.^[5]

Under the Copyright Term Extension Act, books published in 1926, films released in 1926, like Don Juan (one of the early sound films), The Son of the Sheik (Rudolph Valentino's final film), and other works published in 1926, entered the public domain in 2022.^[6]

Notable books entering the public domain in the United States include The Sun Also Rises, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Winnie-the-Pooh, Seven Pillars of Wisdom, and Bambi, a Life in the Woods.^[7]

Unpublished works whose authors died in 1951 entered the public domain.

See also[edit]

• 1951 in literature and 1971 in literature for writers who died in those years
• Public Domain Day
• Creative Commons
• List of countries' copyright lengths

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Media related to Undeleted in 2022 at Wikimedia Commons

• "Authors by Year of Death - 1951". AuthorAndBookInfo.com.
• Popular Books of 1926 at Goodreads