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Poster: Video-Cellar Date: Apr 21, 2010 1:26am
Forum: feature_films Subject: Re: Charlie Chan-Are Any of These Really Public Domain

The films were published without copyright notices. They were subsequently registered for copyright. However, the lack of copyright notice render the registrations invalid and the movies public domain. There are many PD films that have yet to make it to video or DVD. This could be because of the lack of available prints, high costs of transferring films to video, lack of interest or demand. There has also been some decline in the distribution of PD films that were originally produced by hollywood studios. There are lots of copyright movies that have many releases on different companies. So amazon.com, or the DVD market in general, is not the best way to test a films PD status. It is not uncommon for a small number of entries a series to enter the PD in the USA: There were 8 Mr Moto movies and 1 is PD There were 14 Sherlock Holmes movies and 4 are PD There were 4 Nancy Drew movies and 1 is PD There were 45 Charlie Chan movies and 4 are PD Less than 20% of all movies registered for copyright were ever renewed and that doesn't take into account films that fell into the PD through other failures to comply like the Chan movies mentioned.
This post was modified by Video-Cellar on 2010-04-21 08:26:31

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Poster: Moongleam Date: Apr 21, 2010 6:47pm
Forum: feature_films Subject: Re: Charlie Chan-Are Any of These Really Public Domain

| Less than 20% of all movies registered for copyright were ever renewed
| and that doesn't take into account films that fell into the PD through
| other failures to comply like the Chan movies mentioned.

So at least 80% of the movies made between 1930 and 1960 are PD?

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Poster: Video-Cellar Date: Apr 21, 2010 8:34pm
Forum: feature_films Subject: Re: Charlie Chan-Are Any of These Really Public Domain

Less than 20% of all films registered 1896-1963 were renewed for lots of different reasons:
-No films made before 1915 were renewed
-Major studios did not routinely renew until their 1925 films came up
-Monogram and PRC did not renew pictures until their mid 40s releases were due.
-Many indie studios (Chesterfield, Tiffany) never renewed their pictures at all.
-Some major studios have almost entire years of production in the 30s, 40s and 50s that lapsed into PD due to clerical or financial problems (eg. MGM [1951 season], Universal [1942, 1947], RKO [1931], various Hal Roach Studios 1940s, Fox [1946] etc).
-Many films were not renewed by the studio who bought the film and remake rights (Farewell to Arms, A Star is Born, etc)
-Most pre-1950 UA films were not renewed.