Sources and method
These are conditional term estimates, not clearance of individual works.
Author data
Names, death years and Wikimedia sitelink counts come from Wikidata, available under CC0. Each author page links its source record.
Selection requires a human listed as a writer or poet, including occupation subclasses, with an English label, death date and at least 15 sitelinks. Conflicting death years and dates less precise than a year are excluded. Authors are ranked by descending sitelinks, with numeric Wikidata ID as the tie-break. Hubs and service pages count towards the 3000-page cap.
The list is grouped by century of death. Selection and exclusions are documented with the dataset; Wikimedia coverage is not search demand.
General EU and UK rule
For an individually authored literary work under the general rule, protection lasts for the author's life and 70 years. Terms are calculated from 1 January following the relevant event.
For death year D, the general term runs through D + 70; the following 1 January is the estimated public-domain date. National rules and exceptions must still be checked.
Separate US publication rule
For older published works governed by the 95-year publication term, the term runs through the end of publication year plus 95. A publication year more than 95 years before the current year meets that age threshold.
This is a work-based rule. An author's death year cannot tell us when each work was published or which US provisions apply. Modern and unpublished works can follow different terms.
Limits and edition rights
Joint and anonymous works, special national and transitional provisions, and first publication after death may have different terms. US status depends on the work and its publication history, not just the author's death. Sound recordings are outside this site's scope.
Translations, annotations, collections and later editions may contain separately protected material. Check rights in the specific text and edition you intend to use.
General legal information, not legal advice. These estimates apply general rules only; check the work, jurisdiction and exceptions before use.