2036 in public domain

When a work's copyright expires, it enters the public domain. Since laws vary globally, the copyright status of some works are not uniform. The following is a list of creators whose works enter the public domain in 2036 under the most common copyright regimes, assuming no further extensions to copyright terms become law in the interim.

Except for Belarus (Life + 50 years)^[1] and Spain (which has a copyright term of Life + 80 years for creators that died before 1988), a work enters the public domain in Europe 70 years after the creator's death, if it was published during the creator's lifetime.^[2][3] In addition, several other countries have a limit of 70 years. The list is sorted alphabetically and includes a notable work of the creator.

In Bangladesh, India, and Venezuela a work enters the public domain 60 years after the creator's death.

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

Spain has a copyright term of life + 80 years for creators that died before 1988.^[4] In Colombia and Equatorial Guinea, a work enters the public domain 80 years after the creator's death.

Under the Copyright Term Extension Act, books published in 1940, films released in 1940, and other works published in 1940 will enter the public domain in 2036.^[5] Sound recordings published in 1935 and unpublished works whose authors died in 1965 will also enter the public domain.

Notable live-action films entering the public domain in 2036 include Alfred Hitchcock's Best Picture Academy Award winner Rebecca starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine, John Ford's adaptation of The Grapes of Wrath with Henry Fonda, George Cukor's The Philadelphia Story with Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, Charlie Chaplin's satirical comedy The Great Dictator, Kitty Foyle starring Ginger Rogers, William Wyler's The Westerner with Gary Cooper, Preston Sturges' The Great McGinty, Walter Lang's Tin Pan Alley, Jack Conway's Boom Town with Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy, Cecil B. DeMille's North West Mounted Police, Busby Berkeley's Strike Up the Band with Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, The Fighting 69th starring James Cagney, Michael Curtiz's Santa Fe Trail with Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland, the British film The Thief of Bagdad (which is notable for its innovative use of the chroma key process), and Abbott and Costello's first film One Night in the Tropics. Significant animated films entering the public domain include Walt Disney's Pinocchio and Fantasia, A Wild Hare which launched the career of Bugs Bunny, Knock Knock with the debut of Woody Woodpecker, the first Tom and Jerry cartoon Puss Gets the Boot (with the characters under their respective initial identities as "Jasper and Jinx"), the Looney Tunes cartoon You Ought to Be in Pictures with Porky Pig and Daffy Duck, and the Donald Duck cartoon Mr. Duck Steps Out which marked the debut of the character Daisy Duck, the last member of Disney's "Sensational Six" to enter the public domain.

Among the literary works entering the public domain are Ernest Hemingway's novel For Whom the Bell Tolls, Agatha Christie's crime novels Sad Cypress and One, Two, Buckle My Shoe, Carson McCullers' novel The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, Raymond Chandler's novel Farewell, My Lovely, Graham Greene's novel The Power and the Glory, Richard Wright's novel Native Son, Bertolt Brecht's play Mr Puntila and his Man Matti in its original German, Dr. Seuss's Horton Hatches the Egg introducing its titular elephant character, C. S. Lewis's nonfiction work The Problem of Pain, the Hardy Boys novel The Disappearing Floor, the Nancy Drew novel The Mystery of the Brass Bound Trunk, and the first issues of science fiction magazine Fantastic Novels. The earliest iterations of DC Comics' characters Robin, The Joker, The Flash, and the Green Lantern will also enter the public domain.

Works of art entering the public domain include Fougasse's propaganda poster series Careless Talk Costs Lives, Salvador Dalí's paintings The Face of War and Slave Market with the Disappearing Bust of Voltaire, Edward Hopper's painting Gas, and Frida Kahlo's painting Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird.

Popular songs entering the public domain in 2036 include "Blueberry Hill", "Frenesi", "I'll Never Smile Again", "Only Forever", "Tuxedo Junction", and all of Woody Guthrie's songs from his album Dust Bowl Ballads. Additionally, the entry of Pinocchio will bring with it the film's entire soundtrack, including its signature song "When You Wish Upon a Star", the corporate anthem of Disney's company; while that of Fantasia will bring along the "Fantasound" recordings of all the classical pieces used in the film, which were performed by Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

• List of American films of 1940
• 1940 in literature
• 1940 in music
• 1965 in literature and 1985 in literature for deaths of writers
• Public Domain Day
• Creative Commons

• "Authors by Year of Death – 1965". AuthorAndBookInfo.com.
• Popular Books of 1940 at Goodreads