Public Domain

Overview

As a legal concept, the term "public domain" refers to works and intellectual properties that are either not protected by copyright law, whose copyrights have expired, or whose copyrights were forfeited. Works produced by governments are also considered to be in the public domain of their respective countries.

Application to film

Films, like any other creative work, may also end up in the public domain. There are several ways this can happen. The first is through the date of publication. All films created before 1923 in the United States indisputably entered the public domain in 1998 when the Copyright Term Extension Act specifically omitted these films from a 20 year copyright extension.

The second instance of a film entering the public domain is if it was created by a government. Specifically, all films created by the US Government automatically entered the public domain upon publication. Many other governments adhere to this rule, and as such most government propaganda films are in the public domain.

The third most common instance is failure to renew copyright. All films produced between 1923 and 1963 held copyrights that were not automatically renewed. If the copyright holder did not renew said rights, the film was automatically forfeited into the public domain.

Finally, there are several special cases that can cause a film to enter the public domain. Some early exploitation film directors did not seek copyright protection due to the slapdash nature of the productions, and these films eventually came under the public domain. One more notable special case involves George Romero's original Night of the Living Dead, which is missing the original copyright notice, and therefore automatically entered the public domain.

Because a film either has to be incredibly old, propaganda, or unprotected by copyright to qualify for the public domain, films that fall under the public domain are often of poor quality. The public domain includes many z-movies, including the infamous Manos: The Hands of Fate and Ed Wood's Plan 9 From Outer Space. These films were not considered of a high enough quality by the rights holders to warrant copyright protection. However, both The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and Metropolis, two films that are considered cornerstones of filmmaking, are in the public domain due to their age. Public domain films are also noteworthy for their appearance on shows such as Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Elvira's Movie Macabre, due to their poor quality and royalty-free use.

Add a movie to this list, then add notes.
	1989	Laser Mission
	1979	Planet of Dinosaurs
	1979	The Driller Killer
	1976	The Boy in the Plastic Bubble
	1976	Embryo
	1974	Horror Express
	1974	The Street Fighter's Last Revenge
	1973	Silent Night, Bloody Night
	1971	Lady Frankenstein
	1971	Angels Hard as They Come
	1971	The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant
	1971	Snake People
	1968	Night of the Living Dead
	1968	Spider Baby
	1968	Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women
	1967	Holy Ghost People
	1966	Manos: The Hands of Fate
	1966	Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter
	1965	Bloody Pit of Horror
	1965	Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet

Add a show to this list, then add notes.
	Mystery Science Theater 3000
	Elvira's Movie Macabre
	The Lucy Show
	The Beverly Hillbillies
	The Dick Van Dyke Show
	The Andy Griffith Show
	The Betty Hutton Show
	Bonanza
	Bat Masterson
	The Bob Cummings Show
	Medic
	The Red Skelton Hour
	The Jack Benny Program
	The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show
	What's My Line?
	The Lone Ranger

Public Domain

Overview

Application to film

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