The Threepenny Opera, Mother Courage, Life of Galileo, The Caucasian Chalk Circle. Brecht died in August 1956, so his works become free in life+70 countries, ending one of the strictest estates in theatre.
| Where | Status |
|---|---|
| Life+70 countries: EU, UK, Australia, Turkey, Russia, most of South America | Free from 1 January 2027 |
Limits
Co-written works stay protected until the last co-author has been dead 70 years (Kurt Weill's music is already free in Europe; Elisabeth Hauptmann lived until 1973). English translations have their own copyright.
Ideas
New stagings without estate approval, new translations, adaptations.
Sources
Checked 31 October 2026. Report a correction.
More books
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Coming 2027Agatha Christie (all works, life+50 countries)Agatha Christie · 1976 · Books
Christie died on 12 January 1976. In countries with a life+50 term (for example China, Egypt, South Africa, the UAE and Saudi Arabia) her whole catalogue, Poirot and Marple included, becomes free in 2027.
Life+50 2027 -
Coming 2027Winnie-the-Pooh (UK, EU and life+70 countries)A. A. Milne · 1926 · Books
Milne died in January 1956, so his Pooh books, poems (When We Were Very Young, Now We Are Six) and plays become free across the UK, the EU and other life+70 countries. The US freed the 1926 book in 2022 and The House at Pooh Corner (Tigger) in 2024.
Life+70 2027US 2022 -
Coming 2027The Good EarthPearl S. Buck · 1931 · Books
Pulitzer Prize novel about a Chinese farming family, a bestseller for two years and a key reason Buck won the Nobel.
US 2027 -
Coming 2027The Story of Babar (original French)Jean de Brunhoff · 1931 · Books
The elephant king's first book. Free in Europe since 2008 (de Brunhoff died in 1937); the original French edition becomes free in the US in 2027.
US 2027Life+70 2008 -
Coming 2027C. S. Forester (Hornblower, The African Queen)C. S. Forester · 1966 · Books
Forester died in 1966, so India (life+60) frees Hornblower and The African Queen in 2027.
India 2027 -
Coming 2027Çalıkuşu (The Wren)Reşat Nuri Güntekin · 1922 · Books
One of Turkey's best-loved novels; Güntekin died in December 1956, so Turkey (life+70) frees it in 2027.
Life+70 2027
General information, not legal advice. Copyright, patent and trademark status differs by country, edition and translation: check before you publish or sell. Full disclaimer