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What comes out of copyright in 2027

Winnie-the-Pooh's text in Britain, Brecht across Europe, and in America the films that made Frankenstein and Dracula. What changes, where, and the catch in each case.

The short answer

On 1 January 2027, works by authors who died in 1956 enter the public domain in the UK, EU and Australia. In the US, works published in 1931 do. Canada adds no authors until 2043, and New Zealand adds authors who died in 1976.

United Kingdom, European Union, Australia, and other life plus 70 countries

Authors who died in 1956

A. A. Milne

Died 31 January 1956

Winnie-the-Pooh (1926), The House at Pooh Corner (1928) and his plays

The text only. E. H. Shepard's illustrations stay in UK copyright until 2047, and Disney's versions are its own.

Bertolt Brecht

Died 14 August 1956

Mother Courage and Her Children, Life of Galileo, The Caucasian Chalk Circle

Only work he wrote alone. Several of his plays had collaborators, including Elisabeth Hauptmann, whose own term runs from her death.

Walter de la Mare

Died 22 June 1956

Memoirs of a Midget, The Return, his ghost stories and poems

Max Beerbohm

Died 20 May 1956

Zuleika Dobson (1911)

E. C. Bentley

Died 30 March 1956

Trent's Last Case (1913)

A. M. Burrage

Died 18 December 1956

Ghost stories, including Smee

Michael Arlen

Died 23 June 1956

The Green Hat (1924)

H. L. Mencken

Died 29 January 1956

Essays and criticism

Louis Bromfield

Died 18 March 1956

The Rains Came (1937)

Alex Raymond

Died 6 September 1956

Flash Gordon strips he drew

Flash Gordon is a trademark, and the strip continued under other artists.

United States, where published works are protected for 95 years

Works published in 1931

Films

  • Frankenstein
  • Dracula
  • City Lights
  • The Public Enemy
  • M
  • Monkey Business
  • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
  • The Champ
  • Platinum Blonde
  • Tabu

Books

  • The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
  • The Glass Key by Dashiell Hammett
  • Sanctuary by William Faulkner
  • The Waves by Virginia Woolf
  • The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie
  • The Story of Babar by Jean de Brunhoff (the original French)

Plays

  • Green Grow the Lilacs by Lynn Riggs, the basis of Oklahoma!
  • Cavalcade by Noël Coward

Songs

  • As Time Goes By
  • Minnie the Moocher
  • All of Me
  • Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?

The catches

A 1931 film enters the public domain, but later films, remakes and studio character designs do not. Universal's Frankenstein make-up, for example, is still protected as a trademark and through later films.

Some 1931 works are already free in the US because their copyright was never renewed. Others, by foreign authors, had copyright restored in 1996 and run the full 95 years.

A song's composition and a particular recording of it are separate copyrights. Recordings from 1931 follow different rules.

Canada and New Zealand

Canada
Nothing new from authors. Canada moved to life plus 70 on 30 December 2022 without reviving expired works, so the next authors come free in 2043.
New Zealand
Authors who died in 1976, under New Zealand's life plus 50 rule, including Agatha Christie, Paul Gallico and André Malraux. New Zealand has agreed to move to life plus 70 in future, so check the position before relying on it.

Questions

In the UK, EU and Australia, the works of authors who died in 1956, including A. A. Milne and Bertolt Brecht. In the US, works published in 1931, including the films Frankenstein, Dracula and City Lights.

Milne's text is, from 1 January 2027. E. H. Shepard's original illustrations are not until 2047, and Disney's designs remain Disney's. In the US, the 1926 book has been free since 2022.

The 1931 Universal film enters the US public domain on 1 January 2027. Mary Shelley's novel has been free for far longer. Later Universal films and the trademarked look of the creature are still protected.

Sources, checked 18 October 2026

Check a specific work with the public domain calculator. This page is general information, not legal advice.

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