Last reviewed by Robert Prime, 5 November 2026. Rules read that day on legislation.gov.uk, in The National Archives’ copyright guide and on Amazon’s public domain page. General information, not legal advice.
Quick Answer: A UK book goes out of copyright 70 years after the end of the year its author died. Take the year of death, add 71, and it is free from 1 January of that year. Someone who died in 1956 is free from 1 January 2027. Check the illustrator and translator as well: each has a separate date.
The sum, with real authors
The Copyright, Designs and Patents Act says copyright “expires at the end of the period of 70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the author dies” (s.12(2)). The month of death makes no difference. Everyone who died in the same year comes free on the same New Year’s Day.
| Author | Died | Free in the UK from |
|---|---|---|
| George Orwell | 1950 | 1 January 2021 |
| Thomas Mann | 1955 | 1 January 2026 |
| A. A. Milne | 1956 | 1 January 2027 |
| Enid Blyton | 1968 | 1 January 2039 |
| J. R. R. Tolkien | 1973 | 1 January 2044 |
| Agatha Christie | 1976 | 1 January 2047 |
| Roald Dahl | 1990 | 1 January 2061 |
Death dates are from Wikidata, read on 5 November 2026; the last column is our sum using section 12. It tells you about the author’s own text and nothing else, as the next section shows.
Five things that keep a “free” book in copyright
1. The pictures have their own date
A. A. Milne’s words come free on 1 January 2027. E. H. Shepard, who drew Winnie-the-Pooh, died in 1976, so on the same sum his drawings stay in copyright until the end of 2046. If you reprint an old illustrated book, check the illustrator by name, or leave the pictures out.
2. So does a translation
A translation is an “adaptation” of the original (s.21(3)), and it is the translator’s own written work. Thomas Mann’s German text is free in the UK, but that says nothing about an English version. Count from the translator’s death, or commission your own translation.
Introductions, notes and modern editing work the same way. Whoever wrote them has their own clock.
3. The page layout of a recent edition
gov.uk lists “the layout of published editions” among the things copyright protects (How copyright protects your work). That right lasts 25 years from the end of the year the edition came out (s.15). Scanning a 2015 paperback of a Victorian novel copies that layout. Set your own pages from a clean text instead.
4. Works unpublished in 1989
Letters, diaries and manuscripts follow a transitional rule. Literary works “of which the author has died” and which had not been published before the Act came in stay protected for 50 years from the end of the year it started (Schedule 1, paragraph 12(4)). The National Archives puts it plainly: such works “will be in copyright until 2039 at the earliest” (National Archives).
This catches authors writing family history and memoir. A great-grandmother’s letters from 1890 can still be in copyright until the end of 2039 if they have never been published. Copyright in a letter belongs to the person who wrote it and then to their heirs, not to whoever owns the paper.
5. Special cases written into the law
- Two or more authors. For a joint work, the 70 years run from “the death of the last of them to die” (s.12(8)).
- Unknown author. The 70 years run from when the work was made or, if it came out during that time, from when it was first made available (s.12(3)).
- Government writing. Section 12 does not apply to Crown copyright. The National Archives gives the standard term as “50 years after the year of publication or for 125 years after creation”.
- Peter Pan. Copyright in the play expired on 31 December 1987, but the Act gives Great Ormond Street Hospital’s charity “a right to a royalty” on its public performance, commercial publication or communication to the public, and on adaptations (s.301). Publishing the play or an adaptation commercially in the UK means dealing with that royalty.
- The King James Bible. It has its own position under Crown rights. See quoting the Bible, poems and other books.
Out of copyright is not the same as free of every right
Copyright ending does not end trade marks or the law of passing off. In 2022 the High Court found goodwill in both the name of a TV series and its leading characters, separate from any copyright question (Shazam Production v Only Fools The Dining Experience, [2022] EWHC 1379 (IPEC), para 200). A character may be free to write about while the name or logo is still someone’s registered brand, so search the UK trade mark register before you put a famous name on a cover. We cover this in brand names and trade marks in books.
Other countries count differently. Amazon warns that “the duration of copyright varies between countries or regions”. Being free in the UK does not make a book free in every territory you tick on KDP.
Publishing a public domain book on Amazon KDP
This is where most reprints fail. Being legally free is not enough for Amazon. From KDP’s public domain page, read on 5 November 2026:
- “we may ask you to provide proof that the content you submitted is in the public domain.”
- “We may also refuse public domain content that’s already available through Amazon or other sites.”
- “If a free version of a public domain title is available in our store, we will only allow you to publish a differentiated version.”
| Amazon accepts as different | Amazon does not |
|---|---|
| Original translation, marked (Translated) | A linked table of contents |
| Original annotations, such as study guides, critiques, biographies or historical context, marked (Annotated) | Formatting improvements |
| 10 or more original illustrations relevant to the book, marked (Illustrated) | Collections |
| A lower price or better sales rank | |
| Freely available internet content |
Five more rules, the last from Amazon’s royalties page:
- The tag goes in the title field: “Pride and Prejudice (Annotated)” is acceptable, and “with an Introduction by…” is not.
- The description must open with a bullet list of what is original.
- In Publishing Rights, choose “This is a public domain work”.
- “Public domain content is not eligible for all eBook royalty options or KDP Select.”
- On ebooks, works “in the public domain or consisting primarily of public domain content are only eligible for the 35% royalty option”. If you add substantial original content or an original translation, so the book isn’t primarily public domain, the 70% option can apply.
So a new cover and clean formatting will not get a classic through on their own. Plan the original material first and budget for it.
A copyright page for a public domain reprint
The old text is free, but your new work is not. Say which is which:
[Title] was first published in [year].
The text of this edition is in the public domain in the United Kingdom.
Introduction, notes and illustrations © [Year] [Your name or the contributor's name].
This edition published [Year] by [Imprint or your name].Our copyright page template has the full page. If your new edition quotes someone who is still in copyright, the UK Author Legal Pack includes the permission-to-quote letter.
Your check before you publish
- Who wrote the text, and when did they die? Find a reliable source and save it.
- Was it published in their lifetime or before 1 August 1989? If not, look at the 2039 rule.
- Who else contributed: illustrator, translator, editor, writer of the introduction?
- Which edition are you working from, and when was it published?
- Is the name or character a registered trade mark?
- Is a free version already on Amazon? If so, what will you add?
- Which KDP territories are you ticking?
Frequently asked questions
Which authors came out of copyright in 2026?
In the UK, authors who died in 1955. Next, on 1 January 2027, it is those who died in 1956, including A. A. Milne.
Is it 70 years from publication or from death?
From the end of the year of the author’s death, for a book with a known author. Publication date does not change it.
Is everything before 1900 in the public domain?
Not automatically. A work unpublished in 1989 can be in copyright until 2039, and a modern translation or edition of an old text has its own copyright.
Can I sell a public domain book on Amazon?
Yes, but if a free version is already in the store, Amazon requires original translation, annotations or at least 10 original illustrations, and it may ask for proof.
Can I put public domain books in KDP Select?
Amazon says public domain content “is not eligible for all eBook royalty options or KDP Select”.
Can I use a public domain book as the basis for my own novel?
Yes, once the text is free in the territories where you sell. If a later film or adaptation added something new, that addition may still be protected. See is fan fiction legal in the UK?
