List of films in the public domain in the United States

This is a list of films that certain cited sources believe are in the public domain in the United States. Being in the public domain refers to cinematic, dramatic, literary, musical and artistic works that no government, organization, or individual owns, and as such is common property.[1]

Note: Films in this list may incorporate elements from other works that are still under copyright, even though the film itself is out of copyright.

Contents

Copyrightable elements of a film

There is no official list of films (or other works) in the public domain. It is more difficult to determine the public domain status of film than for any other media because a film can incorporate any or all of the following copyrightable elements:

Film copyright involves the copyright status of multiple elements that make up the film.[4] A film can lose its copyright in some of those elements while retaining copyright in other elements.[4] Expert attorneys in the field of public domain sometimes differ in their opinions as to whether a particular film is in the public domain.

The use of music in a film can cause uncertainty with regard to copyright. As of 2010, it is not known as to whether the use of music in a movie constitutes publication of the music for the purpose of copyright.[5] (Unpublished works are treated differently from published works under US copyright law.[6])

Judicial interpretation of public domain

Judges, too, differ in their interpretation of the laws governing copyright protection. The United States is a “patchwork quilt” of inconsistent copyright rules in different federal judicial districts. The courts of one jurisdiction are not obliged to follow the decisions of another.[7] The U.S. Supreme Court (which could resolve those inconsistencies) very seldom decides copyright cases, and then only when an important principle is involved.

Documenting public domain status

If a film appears on the list below, there is a high probability it has lost some or all of its United States copyright protection (or in the case of U.S. government films, was never protected by copyright).

There is no single method for determining if a film, or parts of it, is in the public domain. There are several methods that can be used to document a film’s public domain status. These include the following:

Date of publication

All motion pictures made and exhibited before 1923 are indisputably in the public domain in the United States. Before the passage of the Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA) in 1998, the term of copyright in the U.S. was a maximum of 75 years, with the work entering the public domain on January 1 of the 76th year from creation (so, for example, a film made in 1920 whose copyright was properly registered and renewed would enter the public domain on January 1, 1996). Although the CTEA added 20 years to the terms of all existing copyrights, it explicitly refused to revive any copyrights that had expired prior to its passage.

Work of the United States government

Main article: Copyright status of work by the U.S. government

All copyrightable works made by United States government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain from their creation. The status of works made by contractors is dependent on the terms of their contract. Note that this applies only to the federal government, and not to state or local governments, which may or may not claim copyright depending on state laws.

Determine copyright registration

Motion picture copyright registrations prior to 1978 were published in semi-annual Copyright Catalogs. The Library of Congress also published cumulative Copyright Catalogs of motion picture registrations for the periods

All are out of print. However, the Film Superlist series is a complete reprint of all registrations in the Copyright Catalogs for 1894 through 1959. There is no cumulative Copyright Catalog for 1970–1977; the Copyright Office published 16 semi-annual Copyright Catalog booklets covering that eight-year period, but all are out of print and extremely rare. All copyright registrations from 1978 onward are online at the Library of Congress website.

Some films listed on this page were not registered, but it is unwise to presume an unregistered film is entirely copyright free without doing further research. For example, This Is the Army had no copyright registration, but it is a musical with several Irving Berlin songs, all of which were registered for copyright and renewed. The movie is shown on Turner Classic Movies, presumably with permission from the Berlin estate.

Some decades of The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures include copyright registration information for feature films (not shorts) of United States origin. This can include a statement that research failed to disclose copyright registration for a particular film. Copyright registration information is given in the following:

The United States copyright website catalogs all the works prior to 1978 that have been renewed.[8] Several pieces of work have been renewed in the form of collections, thus giving the collection as a whole copyright protection.

Copyright renewal status

For films registered in 1923–1963 inclusive, it is essential to know the renewal status. The semi-annual Copyright Catalog booklets have virtually complete (at least 99.99%) lists of renewals for the films registered 28 years earlier. Those semi-annual booklets all are out of print. However, for 1923 through 1959, the Film Superlist books match copyright renewals with earlier registrations. Copyright registrations and renewals can be found in

In 1992, Congress changed the copyright law to make renewal automatic for copyrights registered in 1964 and later.

Underlying rights

Many of the movies listed below are based on plays, novels, magazine stories or a combination of those sources. In some cases, a film’s copyright has lapsed because of non-renewal while the underlying literary or dramatic source is still protected by copyright. For example, the movie His Girl Friday (1940) became a public domain film in 1969 because it was not renewed, but it is based on the 1928 play The Front Page, which is still under copyright until 2024 and thus as a practical matter the film can't be used without permission.[4]

Studio and distributor abbreviations

Films

Any film that was first published before 1923 has been released already in the public domain in the United States for either expired copyright or failure to comply with copyright laws, such as omission of notice, failure to deposit a copy to the Copyright Office within demanded time, or no renewal registration. Therefore, it is not listed here: see Category:Films by year for pre-1923 films.

With an exception, if it has been released to the public domain under only special circumstances not previously mentioned, a pre-1923 film must be listed here.

Film title Release year Director Studio / Distributor Entered PD in (year) Reason for entering PD Note(s)
Charade 1963 Stanley Donen Universal Pictures 1963 Missing copyright notice.[9] Original music remains under copyright.[10]
Dixiana 1930 Luther Reed RKO Radio Pictures 1959 Failure to renew copyright.[9]
The Driller Killer 1979 Abel Ferrara Cult Epics 1979 Missing notice and registration[11]
Father's Little Dividend 1951 Vincente Minnelli MGM 1980 Failure to renew copyright.[9]
A Farewell to Arms 1932 Frank Borzage Paramount Pictures 1961 Failure to renew copyright.[9]
The General 1927 Clyde Bruckman
Buster Keaton		 United Artists 1956 Failure to renew copyright.[12]
The Gold Rush 1925 Charlie Chaplin United Artists 1954 Failure to renew copyright.[12]
Hemp for Victory 1942 Raymond Evans U.S. Department of Agriculture 1942 Work of the United States Government [G] U.S. government short
His Girl Friday 1940 Howard Hawks Columbia Pictures 1969 Failure to renew copyright. Underlying rights copyright until 2024.[12]
Little Shop of HorrorsThe Little Shop of Horrors 1960 Roger Corman Filmgroup 1989 Failure to renew copyright.[12]
Lost JungleThe Lost Jungle 1934 David Howard
Armand Schaefer		 Mascot Pictures 1962 Failure to renew copyright; company dissolved Film serial
Love Affair 1939 Leo McCarey RKO Radio Pictures 1968 Failure to renew copyright.[9]
Mr. Imperium 1951 Don Hatman MGM 1980 Failure to renew copyright.[13]
Night of the Living Dead 1968 George A. Romero Walter Reade 1968 Missing copyright notice[14] Remade in 1990 and 2006
Nothing Sacred 1937 William A. Wellman Selznick
United Artists		 1966 Failure to renew copyright.[12]
The Painted Hills 1951 Harold F. Kress Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 1980 Failure to renew copyright.[13] Final Lassie movie.
The Phantom of the Opera 1925 Rupert Julian Universal Studios 1944 Failure to renew copyright.[9]
Royal Wedding 1951 Stanley Donen MGM 1980 Failure to renew copyright.[9]
Star Is BornA Star Is Born 1937 William A. Wellman SIP
United Artists		 1966 Failure to renew copyright.[12] Re-made in 1954 and 1976
Teenagers from Outer Space 1959 Tom Graeff Warner Bros. 1987 Failed to renew copyright.[12]
Topper Returns 1941 Roy Del Ruth United Artists 1970 Failure to renew copyright.[9]
Vengeance Valley 1951 Richard Thorpe MGM 1980 Failure to renew copyright.[13]
Why We Fight 1942–1944 Frank Capra United States Army Pictorial Services 1942–44 Work of the United States Government [G]

Films previously in the public domain

The following films were but no longer are in the public domain. The films listed as Uruguay Round Agreements Act are pending the outcome of the Golan v. Holder case.

Film title Release year Director Studio / Distributor Entered PD in (year) Reason for entering PD Genre[off-topic?] Reason for not currently in PD
The 39 Steps[15] 1935 Alfred Hitchcock Gaumont British Picture Corporation Ltd. 1963 Copyrights not renewed Thriller The Uruguay Round Agreements Act[16]
Blackmail 1929 Alfred Hitchcock British International Pictures 1957 Copyrights not renewed Thriller drama The Uruguay Round Agreements Act[16]
It's a Wonderful Life 1946 Frank Capra Liberty Films (studio) 1974 Failure to renew copyrights Comedy/Drama Under rulings of Stewart v. Abend, the copyrighted short story "The Greatest Gift"[17][18]
Metropolis 1927 Fritz Lang Universum Film AG
Paramount		 1954 Copyright not renewed. Currently under appeal of Golan v. Holder[19] Science fiction The Uruguay Round Agreements Act[20]
The Third Man 1949 Carol Reed Lions Gate (2010) 1977 Copyrights not renewed Film noir The Uruguay Round Agreements Act[16]

See also

Notes

References

  1. ^ "An Introduction to Films and Motion Pictures" at RoyaltyFreeMusic.com Retrieved August 4, 2009
  2. ^ Rich, Lloyd L. (1998). "Protection of Graphic Characters". The Publishing Law Center. http://www.publaw.com/graphical.html. Retrieved 2010-10-31. 
  3. ^ Adler, Kenneth A. (1999-10-01). "Using Dramatic Characters in Multimedia Works - Avoiding the Pitfalls". Thelen LLP. http://www.thelenreid.com/index.cfm?section=articles&function=ViewArticle&articleID=1403&filter=. Retrieved 2010-10-31. 
  4. ^ a b c Fishman, Stephen (2010), The Public Domain: How to Find & Use Copyright-Free Writings, Music, Art & More (5th ed.), Nolo (retrieved via Google Books), p. 180, ISBN 1-4133-1205-5, http://books.google.com/books?id=4WKTNLRtUAsC, retrieved 2010-10-31 
  5. ^ Fishman, Stephen (2010), The Public Domain: How to Find & Use Copyright-Free Writings, Music, Art & More (5th ed.), Nolo (retrieved via Google Books), p. 181, ISBN 1-4133-1205-5, http://books.google.com/books?id=4WKTNLRtUAsC, retrieved 2010-10-31 
  6. ^ Hirtle, Peter B. (2010-10-04). "Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States". http://copyright.cornell.edu/resources/publicdomain.cfm. Retrieved 2010-10-31. 
  7. ^ Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (1940–1949), page xii.
  8. ^ "United States Copyright Office Public Catalog". http://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?DB=local&PAGE=First. Retrieved 2009-10-10. 
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h David, Pierce (06 2007). "Forgotten Faces: Why Some of Our Cinema Heritage Is Part of the Public Domain". Film History: An International Journal 19 (2): 125–43. doi:10.2979/FIL.2007.19.2.125. ISSN 0892-2160. OCLC 15122313. http://www.mendeley.com/research/forgotten-faces-some-cinema-heritage-part-public-domain/. Retrieved 2012-01-04. "ABSTRACT: When a copyright expires or is not properly renewed, a work falls into the public domain and can be freely reproduced, distributed, and displayed. David Pierce explains how a number of classic films from the studio era entered the public domain, including A Fool There Was, Phantom of the Opera, Night of the Living Dead, Charade, Love Affair, Farewell to Arms, A Star Is Born, Dixiana, Topper Returns, Royal Wedding and Fathers Little Dividend." 
  10. ^ Online search results for keywords "Henry Mancini Charade", from US Copyright Office.
  11. ^ The film has no entry in the United States Copyright Office database. For any work published after 1977, a lack of registration in this database confirms public domain status. See Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States, Cornell University.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g Stephen Fishman. The public domain: how to find & use copyright-free writings, music, art & more, Nolo, May 4, 2010, pg. 174-180.
  13. ^ a b c David, Pierce (06 2007). "Forgotten Faces: Why Some of Our Cinema Heritage Is Part of the Public Domain". Film History: An International Journal 19 (2): 125–43. doi:10.2979/FIL.2007.19.2.125. ISSN 0892-2160. OCLC 15122313. http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.ezproxy.tamu.edu:2048/hww/results/results_single_fulltext.jhtml;hwwilsonid=NKY1TDGY2AY3ZQA3DIMCFGGADUNGIIV0. Retrieved 2008-02-21. "MGM was never known for its mystery films, but there has been a mystery as to why the studio's copyrights on eight features from the 1950/51 season fell into the public domain...Technicolor films include Mr. Imperium, a musical with Lana Turner and Ezio Pinza, The Painted Hills, the studio's final Lassie picture, and Vengeance Valley with Burt Lancaster and Robert Walker in a Cain and Abel story...These are mostly 'A' pictures, they were all in-house productions, they weren't sold to another studio, they had valid copyright notices, they were all released from January to June 1951, and MGM did file copyright renewal applications for them." 
  14. ^ Night of the Living Dead entered the public domain because the original theatrical distributor, the Walter Reade Organization, neglected to place a copyright indication on the prints. In 1968, United States copyright law required a proper notice for a work to maintain a copyright. See U.S. Copyright Office, Circular 92, Copyright Law of the United States of America, Chapter 4: Copyright Notice, Deposit, and Registration, Omission of notice on certain copies and phonorecords. Image Ten displayed such a notice on the title frames of the film beneath the original title, Night of the Flesh Eaters but the distributor removed the statement when it changed the title. See Boluk, Stephanie; Lenz, Wylie (June 16, 2011 (2011-06-16)). "Introduction: Generation Z, the Age of Apocalypse". In Boluk, Stephanie; Lenz, Wylie. Generation Zombie: Essays on the Living Dead in Modern Culture. Jefferson, North Carolina, US: McFarland & Company. p. 5. ISBN 978-0786461400. http://books.google.co.il/books?id=Jc3Or27Mzr0C&lpg=PP1&dq=Generation%20Zombie%3A%20Essays%20on%20the%20Living%20Dead%20in%20Modern%20Culture&hl=en&pg=PA5#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved August 26, 2011 (2011-08-26). 
  15. ^ "The 39 Steps" at the Internet Archive Retrieved December 18, 2010
  16. ^ a b c Library of Congress, Copyright Office. "Copyright Restoration of Works in Accordance With the Uruguay Round Agreements Act", U.S. Copyright Office 22 August 1997. Retrieved 15 February 2011.
  17. ^ Cox, Stephen. It's a Wonderful Life: A Memory Book. Nashville, Tennessee: Cumberland House, 2003. 115. Print. ISBN 1-58182-337-1. Copyright of short story, The Greatest Gift, expires after 2038, 95 years after publication.
  18. ^ "Renewal Registrations, p. 1614." Catalog of Copyright Entries, January–June 1971, U.S. Copyright Office. Retrieved: November 8, 2010.
  19. ^ Golan v. Gonzales (aka Golan v. Ashcroft and Golan v. Holder). Retrieved on 29 August 2009.
  20. ^ Copyright restoration and foreign works, Copyright Sherpa
  21. ^ "CASRIP Newsletter – Vol 14, Iss 1". http://www.law.washington.edu/Casrip/Newsletter/default.aspx?year=2007&article=newsv14i1Mitani. Retrieved 2009-05-27. "There are many masterpieces which were published on 1953, such as “Shane,” “Roman Holiday,” as well as other well-known Japanese motion pictures, including “Tokyo Story” by Yasujiro Ozu. The copyrights for these works are currently considered expired. Therefore, if the district court’s judgment is upheld by the High Court, the loss which many copyright holders would suffer would be extremely high. As a result, the outcome of the Tokyo High Court in this case will be a landmark judgment and the proceedings should be carefully monitored."  However, the Tokyo District Court ruled on 17 September 2007 that films by Akira Kurosawa remain copyrighted until 2036, arguing that an older pre-1970 law applies. That old law kept copyright protection for 38 years after the creator's death.

Bibliography

Further readings

External link