When does it come out of copyright?
Enter when the author died and when the work was first published. You get the date in 6 territories, and the rule behind each one.
United Kingdom
Enters the public domain on 1 January 2027
Life of the author plus 70 years
European Union
Enters the public domain on 1 January 2027
Life of the author plus 70 years
United States
In the public domain
Published before 1931: the 95-year term has expired
Canada
Public domain since 1 January 2007
Life plus 50 applied before the 2022 extension, which did not revive expired works
Australia
Enters the public domain on 1 January 2027
Life of the author plus 70 years
New Zealand
Public domain since 1 January 2007
Life of the author plus 50 years
New Zealand has agreed to move to life plus 70 in future; a change could extend works still in copyright when it takes effect.
Dates run to 1 January because copyright ends on the last day of the calendar year. This covers books, plays and other literary works by a named author; it is a starting point, not legal advice. For the reasoning, read public domain dates by country and why public domain is not the same as clear.
Questions
No. It applies the standard term for books, plays and other literary works. Anonymous works, works made for hire, translations, film and sound recordings can follow other rules, so check before you commit money.
Use the death year of the last author to die. Copyright in a joint work runs from the death of the last surviving author.
For works published before 1978 the US counts from publication, not from the author's death. Works published before 1931 are already free; from 1931 to 1963 it depends on whether the copyright was renewed.
Search the Catalog of Copyright Entries for renewals filed in the 28th year after publication. BlackSlate records show whether that search has been done for each work, and say "Not verified" when it has not.
Not necessarily. Each country applies its own term, so a film adapted from a book free in the UK can still need a US licence. Check every territory you plan to distribute in.
Every work, already worked out
BlackSlate holds more than 36,000 public domain records with each territory's date and the rule behind it, so you can search instead of calculating.