Which authors will soon be public domain?

Daithi · 07-17-2009, 03:04 PM

No books will go into the Public Domain in the U.S. anytime soon, however that is not the case for all countries. A few countries, such as Australia, have books go into the public domain 50 years after an authors death.

I'd love to know which books will soon be going into the Australian public domain over the next couple years, and thought others might as well. Anyone interested in compiling a list?

Here are a few authors I know of --

Dashiell Hammett - Jan 2011
Ernest Hemingway - July 2011
William Faulkner - July 2012

Also, in March of this year all of Raymond Chandler's books passed into the Australian public domain (no ebooks on Mobileread yet). James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake (1939) has been in the Australian public domain for a while (also not on Mobileread yet).

Daithi · 07-17-2009, 03:22 PM

Note: I mentioned Australia as being a life+50 years public domain country. I guess this changed in 2005, and now they are life+70, but there are plenty of other countries that are life+50.

wallcraft · 07-17-2009, 03:22 PM

Copyrights expire at the end of a calendar year in some places. Australia is now a "Life +70" country but Canada is still +50 see List of countries' copyright length.

HarryT · 07-18-2009, 04:17 AM

Asking which authors died 70 years ago is of more relevence to the overwhelming majority of us, who live in "life + 70" countries.

As mentioned before, however, it's only the year of death that is relevant. Books enter the public domain on 1st Jan of the year AFTER the 70th (or whatever) anniversary of the author's death. Eg, on 1st Jan 2010, all works by authors who died during 1939 will enter the public domain in life + 70 countries.

doreenjoy · 07-18-2009, 06:16 AM

Dashiell Hammett died in 1961 I believe, so we have a while to wait before his works are PD even in Canada.

OT: I have an office in the building that inspired Sam Spade's office in The Maltese Falcon. It also houses "John's Grill", which still has "Sam Spade's pork chops" on the menu.

HarryT · 07-18-2009, 06:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doreenjoy

Dashiell Hammett died in 1961 I believe, so we have a while to wait before his works are PD even in Canada.

Not too long - only two and a half years. His books will enter the Canadian public domain on 1st Jan 2012. Which is nice for people in Canada, but really of no relevance for most of us. Certainly not for either you or me.

doreenjoy · 07-18-2009, 02:27 PM

2 1/2 years is still a chunk of time to wait.

Jellby · 07-18-2009, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Not too long - only two and a half years. His books will enter the Canadian public domain on 1st Jan 2012. Which is nice for people in Canada, but really of no relevance for most of us. Certainly not for either you or me.

Unless we travel to Canada, I guess.

Donnageddon · 07-18-2009, 07:41 PM

Perhaps the Continental Op would pick us up a copy?

carld · 07-18-2009, 08:10 PM

I'd love to see the Public Domain Enhancement Act passed, it would make the best of a really bad situation in the US.

Carl

Jaime_Astorga · 07-19-2009, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carld

I'd love to see the Public Domain Enhancement Act passed, it would make the best of a really bad situation in the US.

Carl

Yeah, I think that would be a good step in the right direction.

Hmmm... George Orwell is still about a decade away.

Greg Anos · 07-19-2009, 02:08 PM

Let's see, for you Western fans, Zane Grey goes PD in life + 70. Jan 1, 2010.

For you life + 50 people, Raymond Chandler goes PD in Jan 1, 2010.

This gets much murkier, but I will note the Lester Dent goes PD in Life + 50 on Jan 1, 2010. However, legal argument could be made that his Doc Savages were "works for hire" and fall under a different set of rules.

Also, from this Jan 1, James Branch Cabell, is PD in Life + 50.

And on the murky side Henry Kuttner is also PD in Life + 50. However since he wrote in partnership with Catherine L. Moore for much of his work, PD on much of his work is not clear.

This is just off the top of my head....

Daithi · 07-20-2009, 04:05 PM

Here are a few that are PD now in PD+50 countries (but not the U.S.)

- F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
- Eugene O'Neill - The Iceman Cometh
- Virginia Woolf - The Waves, To the Lighthouse, Mrs. Dalloway, A Room of One's Own
- D.H. Lawrence - Lady Chatterley's Lover
- Willa Sibert Cather - Death Comes for the Archbishop
- H.P. Lovecraft - Uhmmm...

Here are a few more that are coming up

- Richard A. Wright (died 1960) - Native Son
- Aldous Huxley (died 1963) - Brave New World
- Robert Frost (died 1963) - poetry

carld · 07-20-2009, 04:09 PM

>- H.P. Lovecraft - Uhmmm...

As far as I know, though publishers try to deny it, most of Lovecraft's work has already passed into the public domain.

Daithi · 07-20-2009, 04:51 PM

Wikipedia has a list of his works and many of the publication dates are after 1923. For whatever that's worth.

07-17-2009, 03:04 PM	#1
Daithi Publishers are evil! Posts: 2,418 Karma: 36205264 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Rhode Island Device: Various Kindles	Which authors will soon be public domain? No books will go into the Public Domain in the U.S. anytime soon, however that is not the case for all countries. A few countries, such as Australia, have books go into the public domain 50 years after an authors death. I'd love to know which books will soon be going into the Australian public domain over the next couple years, and thought others might as well. Anyone interested in compiling a list? Here are a few authors I know of -- Dashiell Hammett - Jan 2011 Ernest Hemingway - July 2011 William Faulkner - July 2012 Also, in March of this year all of Raymond Chandler's books passed into the Australian public domain (no ebooks on Mobileread yet). James Joyce's Finnegan's Wake (1939) has been in the Australian public domain for a while (also not on Mobileread yet).

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07-17-2009, 03:22 PM	#2
Daithi Publishers are evil! Posts: 2,418 Karma: 36205264 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Rhode Island Device: Various Kindles	Note: I mentioned Australia as being a life+50 years public domain country. I guess this changed in 2005, and now they are life+70, but there are plenty of other countries that are life+50.

07-17-2009, 03:22 PM	#3
wallcraft reader Posts: 6,975 Karma: 5183568 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mississippi, USA Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD	Copyrights expire at the end of a calendar year in some places. Australia is now a "Life +70" country but Canada is still +50 see List of countries' copyright length.

07-18-2009, 04:17 AM	#4
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Asking which authors died 70 years ago is of more relevence to the overwhelming majority of us, who live in "life + 70" countries. As mentioned before, however, it's only the year of death that is relevant. Books enter the public domain on 1st Jan of the year AFTER the 70th (or whatever) anniversary of the author's death. Eg, on 1st Jan 2010, all works by authors who died during 1939 will enter the public domain in life + 70 countries.

07-18-2009, 06:16 AM	#5
doreenjoy 01000100 01001010 Posts: 1,889 Karma: 2400000 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Polyamorous	Dashiell Hammett died in 1961 I believe, so we have a while to wait before his works are PD even in Canada. OT: I have an office in the building that inspired Sam Spade's office in The Maltese Falcon. It also houses "John's Grill", which still has "Sam Spade's pork chops" on the menu.

07-18-2009, 02:27 PM	#7
doreenjoy 01000100 01001010 Posts: 1,889 Karma: 2400000 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Polyamorous	2 1/2 years is still a chunk of time to wait.

07-18-2009, 07:41 PM	#9
Donnageddon Now you lishen here... Posts: 2,494 Karma: 479498 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Seattle-ish Device: Sony PRS-650. Kobo Touch, Kindle Fire	Perhaps the Continental Op would pick us up a copy?

07-18-2009, 08:10 PM	#10
carld Wizard Posts: 2,698 Karma: 4748723 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	I'd love to see the Public Domain Enhancement Act passed, it would make the best of a really bad situation in the US. Carl

07-19-2009, 02:08 PM	#12
Greg Anos Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,247 Karma: 35000000 Join Date: Jan 2008 Device: Pocketbook	Let's see, for you Western fans, Zane Grey goes PD in life + 70. Jan 1, 2010. For you life + 50 people, Raymond Chandler goes PD in Jan 1, 2010. This gets much murkier, but I will note the Lester Dent goes PD in Life + 50 on Jan 1, 2010. However, legal argument could be made that his Doc Savages were "works for hire" and fall under a different set of rules. Also, from this Jan 1, James Branch Cabell, is PD in Life + 50. And on the murky side Henry Kuttner is also PD in Life + 50. However since he wrote in partnership with Catherine L. Moore for much of his work, PD on much of his work is not clear. This is just off the top of my head....

07-20-2009, 04:05 PM	#13
Daithi Publishers are evil! Posts: 2,418 Karma: 36205264 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Rhode Island Device: Various Kindles	Here are a few that are PD now in PD+50 countries (but not the U.S.) - F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby - Eugene O'Neill - The Iceman Cometh - Virginia Woolf - The Waves, To the Lighthouse, Mrs. Dalloway, A Room of One's Own - D.H. Lawrence - Lady Chatterley's Lover - Willa Sibert Cather - Death Comes for the Archbishop - H.P. Lovecraft - Uhmmm... Here are a few more that are coming up - Richard A. Wright (died 1960) - Native Son - Aldous Huxley (died 1963) - Brave New World - Robert Frost (died 1963) - poetry

07-20-2009, 04:09 PM	#14
carld Wizard Posts: 2,698 Karma: 4748723 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	>- H.P. Lovecraft - Uhmmm... As far as I know, though publishers try to deny it, most of Lovecraft's work has already passed into the public domain.

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07-20-2009, 04:51 PM	#15
Daithi Publishers are evil! Posts: 2,418 Karma: 36205264 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Rhode Island Device: Various Kindles	Wikipedia has a list of his works and many of the publication dates are after 1923. For whatever that's worth.