2023 in public domain

Countries with life + 70 years

Names	Country	Death	Occupation	Notable work
Youssef Aftimus	Lebanon 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 Death Occupation Notable work Enriqueta Arvelo Larriva Venezuela Countries with life + 50 years 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. Names Country Death Occupation Notable work Fatin Abdel Wahab Egypt Countries with life + 80 years Spain has a copyright term of life + 80 years for creators that died before 1987. In Colombia and Equatorial Guinea a work enters the public domain 80 years after the creator's death. Names Country Death Occupation Notable work Alexander Belyaev Soviet Union Australia and Canada In 2004 copyright in Australia changed from a "plus 50" law to a "plus 70" law, in line with the United States 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 would come out of copyright until 1 January 2026. Similarly, Canada amended its Copyright Act in 2022 from a "plus 50" law to a "plus 70" law, coming into force on December 30, 2022, but does not revive expired copyright. No more new Canadian authors will come out of copyright until 1 January 2043. United States Under the Copyright Term Extension Act, books published in 1927, films released in 1927, and other works published in 1927, entered the public domain in 2023. Unpublished works whose authors died in 1952 entered the public domain. Important examples of works that entered the public domain in the United States in 2023 include notable literature such as Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse, The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather, Copper Sun by Countee Cullen, the first Miss Marple story The Tuesday Night Club by Agatha Christie, and Now We Are Six by A. A. Milne; notable motion pictures such as the German science-fiction film Metropolis, the first feature film with synchronized dialogue The Jazz Singer, Alfred Hitchcock's first thriller The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog, and Harold Lloyd's The Kid Brother; the musical Funny Face; the popular songs "The Best Things in Life Are Free" and "I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Ice Cream"; and songs by Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, and Bessie Smith. The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes contained the last two short stories in the Canon of Sherlock Holmes and was subject to a copyright dispute by Doyle's estate before its entry into the public domain. Worldwide In September 2023, comic book writer Bill Willingham released the Fables intellectual property into the public domain, publisher DC Comics continues to claim ownership of the franchise and had an intent to enforce its copyright, but it has not attempted legal action against Willingham or any unauthorised uses of Fables since. On January 26th 2023, American nature photographer John Fielder donated his entire life's work to the public domain.