When a work's copyright expires, it enters the public domain. The following is a list of works that entered the public domain in 2017. Since laws vary globally, the copyright status of some works are not uniform.

Entering the public domain in countries with life + 70 years

With the exception of Belarus, a work enters the public domain in Europe 70 years after the creator's death, if it was published during the creator's lifetime.^[1][2] The list is sorted alphabetically and includes a notable work of the creator that entered the public domain on January 1, 2017. This term also applies to unpublished works in the United States (otherwise see below).

Names	Country	Birth	Death	Occupation	Notable work
Giuseppe Adami	Italy	4 February 1878	12 October 1946	librettist	Libretti for three operas composed by Giacomo Puccini
Eriks Ādamsons	Latvia	22 June 1907	28 February 1946	writer, poet, translator
Armando Augusto Freire (Armandinho)	Portugal	11 October 1891	21 December 1946	Fado guitarist and composer
Louis Bachelier	France	11 March 1870	28 April 1946	Mathematician
Herbert Baker	United Kingdom	9 June 1862	4 February 1946	Architect
Helen Bannerman	United Kingdom	25 February 1862	3 October 1946	Writer	The Story of Little Black Sambo
Granville Bantock	United Kingdom	7 August 1868	16 October 1946	composer
James Bernard	United Kingdom	11 April 1874	5 March 1946	Elocutionist
Allan Cyril Brooks	Canada	15 February 1869	3 January 1946	Ornithologist, illustrator and artist
Alfonso Broqua [es]	Uruguay	15 February 1869	24 November 1946	Composer
Charles Despiau	France	4 November 1874	30 October 1946	Sculptor
J. Michael Diack	United Kingdom	26 June 1869	2 February 1946	Composer, arranger	Arranged nursery rhymes in the style of Handel
Manuel de Falla	Spain	23 November 1876	14 November 1946	Composer	Nights in the Gardens of Spain, Ritual Fire Dance
W. C. Fields	United States	29 January 1880	25 December 1946	Writer
Jane Findlater	United Kingdom	4 November 1866	20 May 1946	Writer
Dion Fortune	United Kingdom	6 December 1890	6 January 1946	Writer and occultist	The Demon Lover, The Winged Bull, The Goat-Foot God, The Sea Priestess
Wanda Gág	United States	11 March 1893	27 June 1946	Children's book author, artist, translator and illustrator	Millions of Cats
Gerhart Hauptmann	Germany	15 November 1862	6 June 1946	Writer, Nobel Prize laureate	The Weavers, Bahnwärter Thiel (De)
Patty Hill	United States	27 March 1868	25 May 1946	Songwriter	Happy Birthday to You (with sister Mildred J. Hill, who predeceased her)
Violet Jacob	United Kingdom	1 September 1863	9 September 1946	Writer and poet
John Maynard Keynes	United Kingdom	5 June 1883	21 April 1946	Economist	A Treatise on Money
Hermann von Keyserling	Germany	20 July 1880	26 April 1946	Philosopher
Otis Adelbert Kline	United States	1 July 1891	24 October 1946	Literary agent and science fiction writer
Paul Langevin	France	21 January 1872	19 December 1946	Physicist
Henri Le Fauconnier	France	1881	1946	Painter
Józef Mehoffer	Poland	19 March 1869	8 July 1946	Painter and decorative artist
Adolph de Meyer	France	9 January 1868	6 January 1946	Photographer
László Moholy-Nagy	Hungary	20 July 1895	24 November 1946	Painter and photographer	Light-Space Modulator
Paul Nash	United Kingdom	11 May 1889	11 July 1946	Painter/photographer
Mikhail Nesterov	Russia	31 May 1862	18 October 1942[3]	Painter
Feliks Nowowiejski	Poland	7 February 1877	18 January 1946	Composer	Rota (music)
Clemente Palma	Peru	3 December 1872	13 August 1946	Author
Júlio Prestes	Brazil	15 March 1882	9 February 1946	Politician
Damon Runyon	United States	4 October 1880	10 December 1946	Writer and newspaperman
Abel Salazar (scientist)	Portugal	19 July 1889	29 December 1946	Scientist and Painter
Alice Sauvrezis	France	4 April 1866	12 April 1946	Composer
Ernest Thompson Seton	United Kingdom	14 August 1860	23 October 1946	Writer and wildlife artist	Wild Animals I Have Known
May Sinclair	United Kingdom	24 August 1863	14 November 1946	Writer
Václav Špála	Czech Republic	24 August 1885	13 May 1946	Painter
Léon Spilliaert	Belgium	28 July 1881	23 November 1946	Painter
Gertrude Stein	United States	3 February 1874	27 July 1946	Writer	The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, Three Lives
Karl Hans Strobl	Czech Republic	18 January 1877	10 March 1946	Author and editor
Harry Von Tilzer	United States	8 July 1872	10 January 1946	Songwriter	Ziegfeld Follies
Frona Eunice Wait	United States	19 August 1859	1946	Author and newspaper writer	Wines and Vines of California
George Henry Weiss	United States	1898	1946	Writer of science fiction and poetry	The Night People
H. G. Wells	United Kingdom	21 September 1866	13 August 1946	Writer	The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man
Stewart Edward White	United States	12 March 1873	18 September 1946	Writer and spiritualist
Cornel Simanjuntak	Indonesia	1921	15 September 1946	Songwriter	Maju Tak Gentar, Sorak-Sorak Bergembira, Bungaku, Indonesia Tetap Merdeka, Ku Pinta Lagi, Maju Indonesia
Alfred Rosenberg	Germany	12 January 1893	16 October 1946	Politician, writer	The Myth of the Twentieth Century
Paul Zech [de]	Germany	19 February 1881	7 September 1946	Poet	Die lasterhaften Balladen und Lieder des François Villon
Heinrich Freiherr von Stackelberg	Germany	31 October 1905	12 October 1946	Economist	Marktform und Gleichgewicht

Entering the public domain in countries with life + 50 years

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

Names	Country	Birth	Death	Occupation	Notable work
Ralph Allen	Canada	25 August 1913	2 December 1966	Writer, journalist	Peace River Country
Lauro Ayestarán	Uruguay	9 July 1913	22 July 1966	Musicologist	La música en el Uruguay
André Breton	France	19 February 1896	28 September 1966	Writer, poet	Surrealist Manifesto
Jan Brzechwa	Poland	15 August 1898	2 July 1966	Poet
Deems Taylor	United States	22 December 1885	3 July 1966	Composer, music critic
Walt Disney	United States	5 December 1901	15 December 1966	Filmmaker
C. S. Forester	United Kingdom	27 August 1899	2 April 1966	Writer	Horatio Hornblower, The African Queen, The General
Lloyd Garrett	United States	2 July 1886	15 April 1966	Tenor, composer
Alberto Giacometti	Switzerland	10 October 1901	11 January 1966	Sculptor, painter	The Palace at 4 a.m., L'Homme au doigt, Grande tête mince, L'Homme qui marche I, Large Standing Woman I, Monumental Head
César Batlle Pacheco	Uruguay	3 August 1885	6 January 1966	Politician, Journalist
Olhinto María Simoes	Uruguay	5 June 1901	9 October 1966	Poet, journalist	La sombra de los plátanos
Cordwainer Smith	United States	11 July 1913	6 August 1966	Science fiction writer, professor, military officer	Psychological Warfare, Norstrilia, Scanners Live in Vain, Alpha Ralpha Boulevard, A Planet Named Shayol
Evelyn Waugh	United Kingdom	28 October 1903	10 April 1966	Writer	Vile Bodies, A Handful of Dust
Mohamed Fawzi	Egypt	15 August 1918	20 October 1966	Singer, Musician	Kassaman
Mohamed El Qasabgi	Egypt	1892	25 March 1966	Musician	Raq El Habib
Badie' Khayri	Egypt	17 August 1893	1 February 1966	Playwright	Hassan wa Murqus wa Cohen
Sayyid Qutb	Egypt	9 October 1906	29 August 1966	Writer	Ma'alim fi al-Tariq, Fi Zilal al-Quran

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 e.g. British authors back into copyright). 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).

Entering the public domain in the United States

The Copyright Term Extension Act means no published works would enter the public domain in this jurisdiction until 2019.^[4] The exception are unpublished works, which are subject to 70 years after the death of the creator, as above.