# 2020 in public domain

When a work's copyright expires, it enters the public domain. The following is a list of creators whose works entered 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 (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 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 (in essence Life+74) 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 |
| James Truslow Adams | United States | 18 October 1878 | 18 May 1949 | Writer | The March of Democracy |
| Virginia M. Alexander | United States | 1900 | 1949 | Physician | Publications |
| Hervey Allen | United States | 8 December 1889 | 28 December 1949 | Author | Anthony Adverse |
| Masaharu Anesaki | Japan | 25 July 1873 | 23 July 1949 | Historian | History of Japanese Religion |
| Mary Antin | United States | 13 June 1881 | 15 May 1949 | Writer | The Promised Land |
| Josef Maria Auchentaller | Austria | 2 August 1865 | 31 December 1949 | Artist | Bunte Bände |
| Alice Bailey | United States | 16 June 1880 | 15 December 1949 | Writer | Works |
| Rodolfo Garcia (pt) | Brazil | 25 May 1873 | 14 November 1949 | Historian | |
| Hassan al-Banna | Egypt | 14 October 1906 | 12 February 1949 | imam | Mudhakkirât al-da'wa wa al-dâ'iya |
| Philip Barry | United States | 18 June 1896 | 3 December 1949 | Playwright | Holiday |
| Billy Baskette | United States | 20 October 1884 | 8 November 1949 | Pianist, composer | Good Bye Broadway, Hello France |
| Rex Beach | United States | 1 September 1877 | 7 December 1949 | Writer, Olympic athlete | The Spoilers |
| H. Bedford-Jones | United States | 29 April 1887 | 6 May 1949 | Writer | The John Solomon series |
| Khalil Beidas | Palestine | 1874 | 1949 | novelist | Works |
| Federico Beltrán Masses | Spain | 8 September 1885 | 4 October 1949 | Painter | |
| Friedrich Bergius | Germany | 11 October 1884 | 30 March 1949 | Chemist | Bergius process |
| Elsa Bernstein | Austria | 28 October 1866 | 2 July 1949 | Writer | Königskinder |
| Musa Bigiev | Russia | 25 December 1873 (O. S.) | 28 October 1949 | Theologian | Selected works |
| Elisheva Bikhovski | Israel | 20 September 1888 | 27 March 1949 | Writer, Translator | Simta'ot |
| Henriëtte Blaauw [nl] | Netherlands | 5 February 1875 | 15 February 1949 | Writer | |
| Gustavus M. Blech | United States | 28 November 1870 | 9 August 1949 | Physician | Practical Suggestions in Borderland Surgery |
| Leonard Bloomfield | United States | 1 April 1887 | 18 April 1949 | Linguist | Selected publications |
| George Botsford | United States | 24 February 1874 | 1 February 1949 | Composer | |
| Robert Boudrioz | France | 12 February 1887 | 22 June 1949 | Film director, screenwriter | The Man with a Broken Ear |
| Umberto Brunelleschi | Italy | 21 June 1879 | 16 February 1949 | Artist, Illustrator | |
| Guillermo Buitrago | Colombia | 1 April 1920 | 19 April 1949 | Composer | La Vispera de Año Nuevo |
| Harry Burleigh | United States | 2 December 1866 | 12 September 1949 | Composer, singer | settings of spirituals |
| Helen Churchill Candee | United States | 5 October 1858 | 23 August 1949 | Writer, feminist | Angkor the Magnificent |
| Reg Carter | United Kingdom | 6 December 1886 | 24 April 1949 | Cartoonist | Big Eggo |
| N. D. Cocea | Romania | 29 November 1880 | 1 February 1949 | Journalist, Novelist | Vinul de viață lungă |
| Richard Connell | United States | 17 October 1893 | 22 November 1949 | Writer | The Most Dangerous Game |
| Carlo Conti Rossini | Italy | 1872 | 1949 | Orientalist | Italia ed Etiopia dal trattato di Uccialli alla battaglia d'Adua |
| Dorothea Conyers | Ireland | 11 November 1869 | 25 May 1949 | Novelist | |
| Will Cuppy | United States | 23 August 1884 | 19 September 1949 | Humorist | How to be a Hermit |
| Stoyan Danev | Bulgaria | 28 January 1858 | 30 July 1949 | Jurist and politician | |
| Norman Davey | United Kingdom | 5 May 1888 | 6 June 1949 | Engineer, Writer | The Pilgrim of a Smile |
| Edgar De Lange | United States | 12 January 1904 | 13 July 1949 | Composer | |
| Félix d'Herelle | France | 25 April 1873 | 22 February 1949 | Microbiologist | Published works |
| Georgi Dimitrov | Bulgaria | 18 June 1882 | 2 July 1949 | Politician, revolutionary | Georgi Dimitrov bibliography |
| Grigoraș Dinicu | Romania | 3 April 1889 | 28 March 1949 | Composer | Hora staccato |
| Ali Douagi | Tunisia | 4 January 1909 | 27 May 1949 | sketch artist | Sahirtu minhu al-layali |
| Alexander Drankov | Russia Soviet Union | 18 January 1886 | 3 January 1949 | photographer, cameraman, film producer | |
| William Price Drury | United Kingdom | 8 November 1861 | 21 January 1949 | Writer, soldier, politician | The Flag Lieutenant |
| Inés Echeverría Bello | Chile | 1868 | 1949 | Writer | Entre Deux Mondes |
| Arthur Eichengrün | Germany | 13 August 1867 | 23 December 1949 | Chemist | 50 Jahre Aspirin |
| Emil Elenius [fi] | Finland | 16 September 1877 | 1 March 1949 | novelist | Silkkilaiva |
| James Ensor | Belgium | 13 April 1860 | 19 November 1949 | Artist | Christ's Entry Into Brussels in 1889 |
| Herbert Eulenberg | Germany | 25 January 1876 | 4 September 1949 | Writer | Schattenbilder. Eine Fibel für Kulturbedürftige in Deutschland |
| August Fischer | Germany | 14 February 1865 | 14 February 1949 | Orientalist | Arabische Chrestomathie aus Prosaschriftstellern |
| Victor Fleming | United States | 23 February 1889 | 6 January 1949 | Film Director | The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind |
| James Forrestal | United States | 15 February 1892 | 22 May 1949 | Politician | The Forrestal Diaries |
| Nikolay Gamaleya | Russia | 17 February 1859 | 29 March 1949 | Physician, microbiologist | |
| Henri Giraud | France | 18 January 1879 | 11 March 1949 | General | Mes Evasions, Un seul but; la victoire: Alger 1942-1944 |
| Mikhail Golodny | Russia | 11 December 1903 | 20 January 1949 | Poet | Song about Shchors |
| Ángel González Palencia [es] | Spain | 4 September 1889 | 30 October 1949 | Orientalist | El amor entre los musulmanes españoles, El tesoro de los Nazaríes |
| Hari Singh Gour | India | 26 November 1870 | 25 December 1949 | Jurist, educator, writer | The Penal Law of India |
| Martin Grabmann | Germany | 5 January 1875 | 9 January 1949 | Priest, Historian | Thomas Aquinas: His Personality and Thought |
| Stanisław Grabski | Poland | 5 April 1871 | 6 May 1949 | Economist, Politician | |
| Major Greenwood | United Kingdom | 9 August 1880 | 5 October 1949 | Epidemiologist | Publications |
| Joan Lamote de Grignon | Spain | 7 July 1872 | 11 March 1949 | Composer | La nit de Nadal |
| George Gurdjieff | Armenia | 13 January 1866 | 29 October 1949 | spiritual teacher | The Herald of Coming Good |
| František Halas | Czech Republic | 3 October 1901 | 27 October 1949 | Poet, translator | |
| Fritz Hart | United Kingdom | 11 February 1874 | 9 July 1949 | Composer, conductor | |
| Syed Zafarul Hasan | Pakistan | 14 February 1885 | 19 June 1949 | Philosopher | Realism |
| Kunihiko Hashimoto | Japan | 14 September 1904 | 6 May 1949 | Composer | Azami no Hana |
| Will Hay | United Kingdom | 6 December 1888 | 18 April 1949 | Comedian, amateur astronomer | Through My Telescope |
| Burton J. Hendrick | United States | 8 December 1870 | 23 March 1949 | Author | The Life and Letters of Walter H. Page |
| Johann Jakob Hess | Germany | 11 January 1866 | 29 April 1949 | Egyptologist | Von den Beduinen des inneren Arabiens |
| Ludwig Hohlwein | Germany | 27 July 1874 | 15 September 1949 | Poster artist | |
| William Jackson Humphreys | United States | 3 February 1862 | 10 November 1949 | physicist | Bibliography |
| Otto Hupp | Germany | 21 May 1859 | 31 January 1949 | graphical artist | Wappen und Siegel der deutschen Städte, Flecken und Dörfer |
| Douglas Hyde | Ireland | 17 January 1860 | 12 July 1949 | linguist | The necessity for de-anglicising the Irish nation |
| Edmond Jaloux | France | 19 June 1878 | 22 August 1949 | Novelist | Works |
| Josep Maria Jujol | Spain | 16 September 1879 | 1 May 1949 | Architect | Casa Batlló, Park Güell |
| Oskar Jellinek [de] | Austria | 22 January 1886 | 12 October 1949 | Writer | Die Mutter der Neun |
| Clarence Jones | United States | 1889 | 1 June 1949 | Composer | |
| Pierre Jouguet | France | 14 May 1869 | 9 July 1949 | Egyptologist | Works |
| Unno Juza | Japan | 26 December 1897 | 17 May 1949 | Writer of science fiction | |
| Anna Karima | Bulgaria | 1871 | 6 March 1949 | Writer and translator | |
| Selâhattin Kantar | Turkey | 1878 | 17 November 1949 | playwright | Kara Dana |
| Hans Kindler | United States | 8 January 1892 | 30 August 1949 | Conductor, cellist, arranger of music | Recordings |
| Hugh Kingsmill | United Kingdom | 21 November 1889 | 15 May 1949 | Writer, journalist | |
| Martin Knudsen | Denmark | 15 February 1871 | 27 May 1949 | Physicist | The Kinetic Theory of Gases |
| József Koszta | Hungary | 27 March 1861 | 29 July 1949 | Painter | Girl with Geraniums |
| Fritz Krischen | Germany | 26 December 1881 | 15 July 1949 | Archaeologist, Architect | Die Stadtmauern von Pompeji und griechische Festungsbaukunst in Unteritalien und Sizilien |
| August Krogh | Denmark | 15 November 1874 | 13 September 1949 | Zoologist | The Respiratory Exchange of Animals and Man |
| Albert Christian Kruyt | Netherlands | 10 October 1869 | 19 January 1949 | Ethnographer | The Bare'e speaking Toraja of Central Sulawesi |
| Lead Belly | United States | 20 January 1888 | 6 December 1949 | Musician, songwriter | Goodnight, Irene |
| Vasily Lebedev-Kumach | Russia | 5 August 1898 | 20 February 1949 | Poet | The Sacred War |
| Fidelio Ponce de León | Cuba | 24 January 1895 | 19 February 1949 | Painter | Niňos |
| Ernst Lommatzsch | Germany | 18 August 1871 | 5 April 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 | Costa Rica | 1888 | 13 May 1949 | Writer | Cuentos De Mi Tia Panchita |
| Antonio Machado | Spain | 26 July 1875 | 22 February 1939 | Poet | Works |
| Maurice Maeterlinck | Belgium | 29 August 1862 | 6 May 1949 | Playwright | Works |
| René Maire | France | 29 May 1878 | 24 November 1949 | botanist | Flore de l'Afrique du Nord |
| Jane Mander | New Zealand | 9 April 1877 | 20 December 1949 | Novelist | The Story of a New Zealand River |
| Klaus Mann | Germany | 18 November 1906 | 21 May 1949 | Novelist | Mephisto |
| J. C. Mardrus | France | 1868 | 1949 | Orientalist | Works |
| Paul Marc | Germany | 23 December 1877 | 23 September 1949 | Byzantine scholar | Die hellenistisch-jüdische Literatur |
| Wilhelm von Massow | Germany | 12 March 1891 | 21 April 1949 | Archaeologist | Das römische Trier |
| Elton Mayo | Australia | 26 December 1880 | 7 September 1949 | Psychologist | Publications |
| Ibrahim al-Mazini | Egypt | 19 August 1889 | 1949 | Writer | Spider Webs |
| Stefan Meyer | Austria | 27 April 1872 | 29 December 1949 | Physicist | Radioaktivität |
| Margaret Mitchell | United States | 8 November 1900 | 16 August 1949 | Novelist | Gone with the Wind |
| Axel Munthe | Sweden | 31 October 1857 | 11 February 1949 | Psychiatrist | The Story of San Michele |
| Khalil Mutran | Lebanon | 1 July 1872 | 1 June 1949 | poet | |
| Sarojini Naidu | India | 13 February 1879 | 2 March 1949 | Poet | Works |
| Vladimir Nazor | Croatia | 30 May 1876 | 19 June 1949 | Poet, politician | |
| Makino Nobuaki | Japan | 24 November 1861 | 25 January 1949 | Statesman | Makino Nobuaki nikki |
| Vítězslav Novák | Czech Republic | 5 December 1870 | 18 July 1949 | Composer | Bouře |
| Carlos Obligado | Argentina | 21 May 1889 | 3 February 1949 | Writer, critic | March of the Malvinas |
| Sidney Olcott | Canada | 20 September 1872 | 16 December 1949 | Film director | The Pony Express |
| Francesco Pasinetti | Italy | 1 June 1911 | 2 April 1949 | Film Director, screenwriter | The Canal of the Angels |
| Elin Pelin | Bulgaria | 8 July 1877 | 3 December 1949 | Writer | |
| Una Pope-Hennessy | United Kingdom | 21 April 1875 | 16 August 1949 | Historian | Secret Societies and the French Revolution |
| Camillo Praschniker | Austria | 13 October 1884 | 1 October 1949 | Archaeologist | Archäologische Forschungen in Albanien und Montenegro |
| Guillermo Tell Villegas Pulido | Venezuela | 28 July 1854 | 25 July 1949 | politician | Works |
| Alfred Rehder | United States | 4 September 1863 | 25 July 1949 | Botanist | Manual of Cultivated Trees and Shrubs, Hardy in North America |
| Albert Rehm | Germany | 15 June 1871 | 31 July 1949 | Classical scholar | Mythographische Untersuchungen über griechische Sternsagen |
| Gennaro Righelli | Italy | 12 December 1886 | 6 January 1949 | Film director, screenwriter | Svengali |
| Tod Robbins | United States | 1888 | 1949 | writer | Works |
| Julius Ruska | Germany | 9 February 1867 | 11 February 1949 | Orientalist | Al Razi (Rhases) als Chemiker |
| Antoun Saadeh | Lebanon | 1 March 1904 | 8 July 1949 | Politician | Nushu' al-Umam |
| E. Robert Schmitz | France | 8 February 1889 | 5 September 1949 | Composer | The Piano works of Claude Debussy |
| Paul Schultze-Naumburg | Germany | 10 June 1869 | 19 May 1949 | Architect | Die Kunst der Deutschen. Ihr Wesen und ihre Werke |
| Alexey Shchusev | Russia | 8 October 1873 | 24 May 1949 | Architect | Lenin's Mausoleum |
| Nikos Skalkottas | Greece | 21 March 1904 | 19 September 1949 | Composer | List of compositions by Nikos Skalkottas |
| G. E. M. Skues | United Kingdom | 13 August 1858 | 9 August 1949 | Writer, fly fisherman | The Way of a Trout with the Fly |
| Frank Smythe | United Kingdom | 6 July 1900 | 27 June 1949 | Mountaineer, author, photographer | The Kangchenjunga Adventure |
| Edith Somerville | Ireland | 2 May 1858 | 8 October 1949 | Novelist | The Irish R.M. |
| Otto Stählin | Germany | 22 January 1868 | 14 June 1949 | Classical scholar | Die hellenistisch-jüdische Literatur |
| Edward Stettinius | United States | 22 October 1900 | 31 October 1949 | Politician | Roosevelt and the Russians |
| Herbert Stothart | United States | 11 September 1885 | 1 February 1949 | Composer, songwriter, conductor | Score for The Wizard of Oz |
| Richard Strauss | Germany | 11 June 1864 | 8 September 1949 | Composer | List of compositions |
| Harry Stack Sullivan | United States | 21 February 1892 | 14 January 1949 | Psychiatrist | Works |
| Ali Mahmoud Taha | Egypt | 3 August 1901 | 17 November 1949 | Poet | Nights of the Lost Sailor, Palestine |
| Edward Thorndike | United States | 31 August 1874 | 9 August 1949 | Psychologist | Works |
| Joaquín Torres-García | Uruguay | 28 July 1874 | 8 August 1949 | Artist, writer | |
| Gancho Tsenov | Bulgaria | 6 June 1870 | 1949 | Historian | |
| Joaquín Turina | Spain | 9 December 1882 | 14 January 1949 | Composer | Danzas fantásticas |
| Uemura Shōen | Japan | 23 April 1875 | 27 August 1949 | Artist | Jo-no-mai |
| Sigrid Undset | Norway | 20 May 1882 | 10 June 1949 | Novelist | Works |
| Shabbir Ahmad Usmani | Pakistan | 11 October 1887 | 13 December 1949 | theologian | Fathul Mulhim Sharh Sahih Muslim |
| Raimond Valgre | Estonia | 31 October 1913 | 31 December 1949 | composer, musician | |
| Josef Velenovský | Czech Republic | 22 April 1858 | 7 May 1949 | botanist | Works |
| Oswald Garrison Villard | United States | 13 March 1872 | 1 October 1949 | Journalist, civil rights activist | John Brown 1800-1859: A Biography Fifty Years After |
| Rosy Wertheim | Netherlands | 19 February 1888 | 27 May 1949 | Composer | |
| Elin Wägner | Sweden | 16 May 1882 | 7 January 1949 | Novelist | The Penholder |
| Lee "Lasses" White | United States | 28 August 1888 | 16 December 1949 | Pianist, songwriter, actor | |
| E. H. Young | United Kingdom | 21 March 1880 | 8 August 1949 | Novelist and children's writer | |
| Arthur Leo Zagat | United States | 15 February 1896 | 3 April 1949 | Writer, lawyer | |
| Nikola Zhekov | Bulgaria | 6 January 1864 | 1 November 1949 | General | Memoirs |
| Oton Župančič | Slovenia | 23 January 1878 | 11 June 1949 | Writer, translator | Ciciban |

## 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 |
| Santiago Key Ayala | Venezuela | 25 April 1874 | 21 August 1959 | Historian, diplomat |
| Haricharan Bandopadhayaya | India | 23 June 1867 | 13 January 1959 | Scholar, dictionary compiler |
| Barindra Kumar Ghosh | India | 5 July 1880 | 18 April 1959 | Journalist |
| Pattukkottai Kalyanasundaram | India | 14 April 1930 | 8 October 1959 | Film lyricist |
| Abdur Razzaq Malihabadi | India | 1895 | 1959 | Writer |
| J. R. Rangaraju | India | 1875 | 1959 | Novelist |
| Govind Sakharam Sardesai | India | 17 May 1865 | 21 November 1959 | Historian |

## 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, Egypt 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 | Philippines | 10 March 1906 | 26 August 1969 | Writer | Ako ang Daigdig |
| Sargis Abrahamyan | Armenia | 28 December 1915 | 15 June 1969 | Writer | With Generations |
| Theodor W. Adorno | Germany | 11 September 1903 | 6 August 1969 | Philosopher | Theodor W. Adorno bibliography |
| Ricardo Aguirre | Venezuela | 9 May 1939 | 8 November 1969 | Singer, Composer | La Grey Zuliana |
| Ignacio Aldecoa | Spain | 25 July 1925 | 15 November 1969 | Author | El fulgor y la sangre |
| Ikbal Ali Shah | India | 12 July 1894 | 4 November 1969 | Writer, diplomat | Afghanistan of the Afghans |
| Edgar Anderson | United States | 9 November 1897 | 18 June 1969 | Botanist | Introgressive Hybridization |
| Charlotte Armstrong | United States | 2 May 1905 | 7 July 1969 | Author | A Dram of Poison |
| Marius Barbeau | Canada | 5 March 1883 | 27 February 1969 | Ethnographer | Downfall of Temlaham |
| Daniel E. Barbey | United States | 23 December 1889 | 11 March 1969 | Naval Officer | MacArthur's Amphibious Navy |
| Arthur K. Barnes | United States | 6 December 1909 | 11 March 1969 | Science-Fiction Writer | Works |
| Emilio Bigi | Paraguay | 1 July 1910 | 28 May 1969 | Musician | Renacer guarani |
| Charles Brackett | United States | 26 November 1892 | 9 March 1969 | Novelist, Screenwriter | |
| Gabriel Chevallier | France | 3 May 1895 | 6 April 1969 | Novelist | Clochemerle |
| Ivy Compton-Burnett | United Kingdom | 5 June 1884 | 27 August 1969 | Novelist | Manservant and Maidservant |
| Richmal Crompton | United Kingdom | 15 November 1890 | 11 January 1969 | Writer, Teacher | Just William series |
| Alexandra David-Néel | Belgium France | 24 October 1868 | 8 September 1969 | Explorer, Spiritualist | Mystiques et magiciens du Tibet |
| Aleksandr Deyneka | Russia | 20 May 1899 | 12 June 1969 | Artist | The Defense of Petrograd |
| Otto Dix | Germany | 2 December 1891 | 25 July 1969 | Artist | The Trench |
| Duke Adolf Friedrich of Mecklenburg | Germany | 10 October 1873 | 5 August 1969 | explorer, politician | Ins innerste Afrika |
| Max Eastman | United States | 4 January 1883 | 25 March 1969 | Writer | Reflections on the Failure of Socialism |
| Dwight D. Eisenhower | United States | 14 October 1890 | 28 March 1969 | Military Officer, statesman | Crusade in Europe |
| Abo El Seoud El Ebiary | Egypt | 9 November 1910 | 17 March 1969 | Playwright, songwriter | Afrita hanem |
| Olivia FitzRoy | United Kingdom | 27 May 1921 | 24 December 1969 | Author of children's books | Orders to Poach |
| Botong Francisco | Philippines | 4 November 1912 | 31 March 1969 | Muralist | The Progress of Medicine in the Philippines |
| Karl Freund | Germany | 16 January 1890 | 3 May 1969 | Cinematographer, film director | The Mummy |
| Rómulo Gallegos | Venezuela | 2 August 1884 | 5 April 1969 | Novelist, politician | Doña Bárbara |
| Witold Gombrowicz | Poland | 4 August 1904 | 24 July 1969 | Writer, playwright | Ferdydurke |
| Walter Gropius | Germany | 18 May 1883 | 5 July 1969 | Architect | Bauhaus |
| Walter Hahn [de] | Germany | 20 April 1889 | 24 November 1969 | Photographer | Collection at Deutsche Fotothek |
| Wendell Hall | United States | 23 August 1896 | 2 April 1969 | Singer-songwriter | It Ain't Gonna Rain No Mo' |
| Ho Chi Minh | Vietnam | 19 May 1890 | 2 September 1969 | President | Proclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam |
| Karl Jaspers | Germany | 23 February 1883 | 26 February 1969 | Psychiatrist, Philosopher | General Psychopathology |
| Jack Kerouac | United States | 12 March 1922 | 21 October 1969 | Writer | On the Road |
| Norman Lindsay | Australia | 22 February 1879 | 21 November 1969 | Artist, Writer | The Magic Pudding |
| Frank Loesser | United States | 29 June 1910 | 28 July 1969 | Songwriter | Baby, It's Cold Outside, A Bushel and a Peck |
| Erika Mann | Germany | 5 November 1905 | 27 August 1969 | Writer, actress | Zehn Millionen Kinder. Die Erziehung der Jugend im Dritten Reich |
| Gavin Maxwell | United Kingdom | 15 July 1914 | 7 September 1969 | Author | Ring of Bright Water |
| Leo McCarey | United States | 3 October 1898 | 5 July 1969 | Film director, screenwriter | The Bells of St. Mary's |
| Jimmy McHugh | United States | 10 July 1894 | 23 May 1969 | Composer | South American Way |
| Atanasio Ndongo Miyone | Equatorial Guinea | 1928 | 26 March 1969 | Musician | Caminemos pisando las sendas de nuestra inmensa felicidad |
| Meher Baba | India | 25 February 1894 | 31 January 1969 | Mystic | God Speaks |
| Mikio Naruse | Japan | 20 August 1905 | 2 July 1969 | Film director, screenwriter | Apart from You |
| Mutesa II of Buganda | Uganda | 19 November 1924 | 21 November 1969 | Statesman | The Desecration of My Kingdom |
| Seabury Quinn | United States | December 1889 | 24 December 1969 | Author, lawyer | Roads |
| August Sang | Estonia | 27 July 1914 | 14 October 1969 | Poet | Üks noormees otsib õnne |
| Muhammad Shahidullah | Bangladesh | 10 July 1885 | 13 July 1969 | Writer, philologist | Bangla Sahityer Katha |
| Ben Shahn | United States | 12 September 1898 | 14 March 1969 | Artist | Jersey Homesteads Mural |
| Osbert Sitwell | United Kingdom | 6 December 1892 | 4 May 1969 | Writer | Before the Bombardment |
| Josef von Sternberg | United States | 29 May 1894 | 22 December 1969 | Film director | Shanghai Express |
| Leonard Woolf | United Kingdom | 25 November 1880 | 14 August 1969 | writer, publisher | The Village in the Jungle |
| John Wyndham | United Kingdom | 10 July 1903 | 11 March 1969 | Science-Fiction Writer | The Day of the Triffids, The Midwich Cuckoos |
| Stoyan Zagorchinov | Bulgaria | 1889 | January 1969 | Writer | Last Day, God's Day |
| Jorge Zalamea | Colombia | 8 March 1905 | 10 May 1969 | Writer, poet, journalist | El Sueño de las Escalinatas |
| Gostan Zarian | Armenia | 2 February 1885 | 11 December 1969 | Poet, diarist | The Ship on the Mountain |
| Nairi Zarian | Armenia | 13 January 1901 | 12 July 1969 | Poet, playwright | Արա Գեղեցիկ |
| Jerzy Zawieyski | Poland | 2 October 1902 | 18 June 1969 | Playwright, novelist | Dobrze, że byli |
| Leane Zugsmith | United States | 18 January 1903 | 13 October 1969 | Writer | Stories for The New Yorker |

## 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 European 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 would come out of copyright until 1 January 2026 (those who died in 1955).
Unpublished works by authors who died in 1949 entered the public domain on 1 January 2020. Any published literary, artistic, dramatic, or musical work (other than computer programs) by a not generally known author (anonymous or pseudonymous) 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 (including printed music). 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 (under the Copyright Term Extension Act).
* Unpublished works whose authors died in 1949.
Some of the published works that entered the public domain include the earliest sheet music for George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and Buster Keaton's silent comedy film Sherlock Jr.

### Tom Lehrer

In October 2020, satirical singer/songwriter Tom Lehrer announced the release of all of his lyrics and music to the public domain.