All poetry by Miguel Hernández and the works of Stefan Zweig, Arthur Conan Doyle and Julio González, among others, are free of rights
As every January, the National Library of Spain (BNE) has published the list of authors whose works enter the public domain. Those that anyone can already edit, distribute, sell or modify without the permission of the copyright holders or their heirs. Among those “liberated” in 2023 are the poet Miguel Hernández or the artist Julio González. In the intentional sphere, the work of Stefan Zweig and all the work of Sherlock Holmes, from Arthur Conan Doyle in the US, are ‘liberated’.
The legislation and the years that have elapsed since the author’s death before a work enters the public domain vary by country. In Spain, the term is 70 years, although for authors who died before 1987, an earlier law of 1879 applies, with a term of 80 years. This is how the works of the creators who died in 1942 enter the public domain.
In the United States, the 70-year rule applies and touches that of 1952, but any work created in 1927 is considered free. There are exceptions, such as the rights to “Peter Pan” in the United Kingdom, permanently reserved for the Great Hospital Ormond or London, or the ‘Dagboek van Anne Frank’ which enjoys particular attention in the Netherlands and France, as Anne’s father, Otto Frank, who died in 1980, is considered a co-author, who will extend the protection until 2051.
The BNE list lists 177 writers, journalists and artists. Notable among them is the poet and playwright Miguel Hernández (Orihuela, 1910 – Alicante, 1942), author of ‘El rayo que no cesa’ and between the generations of ’27 and ’36. Self-taught and passionate reader, he published ‘Perito in manen’ at the age of twenty. His famous ‘Nanas de la cebolla’, written on scraps of toilet paper in prison and dedicated to his second son by the poet, concludes the ‘Cancionero y romancero de ausencias’, his last and torn collection of poems, published in Argentina after the Hernández’s tragic death in a Franco prison on March 28, 1942.
Also released are the works of Stefan Zweig (1881-1942) -not the most recent translations-, the prolific, versatile and acclaimed Austrian writer who acquired British nationality and who, after fleeing Nazi terror, took his own life made in the Brazilian city of Petrópolis. Zweig was the most translated writer in the world in the 1930s and today he is a ‘long seller’. Author of essays, biographies and novels such as “The World Yesterday”, “Letter to a Stranger”, “Twenty-Four Hours in the Life of a Woman”, “Castellio v. Calvino”, “Fouché, the Dark Genius”, “Chess Novel” and ‘Stellar Moments of Humanity’. Alianza will re-release the last two and Páginas de Espuma’s ‘Complete Stories’.
Source: La Verdad
I am David Jackson, a highly experienced professional in the news industry. I have been working as an author at Today Times Live for over 10 years, and specialize in covering the entertainment section. My expertise lies in writing engaging stories that capture readers’ attention and deliver timely information about the latest developments.
