List of films in the public domain in the United States

Most films are subject to copyright, but those listed here are believed to be in the public domain in the United States. This means that no government, organization, or individual owns any copyright over the work, and as such it is common property. This list is not comprehensive; the vast majority of public domain films are not included here for various reasons. Films in this list may incorporate elements from other works that are still under copyright, even though the film itself is out of copyright.
Copyrightable elements of a film.
There is no official list of films (or other works) in the public domain. It is difficult to determine the public domain status of a film because it can incorporate any or all of the following copyrightable elements:
Film copyright involves the copyright status of multiple elements that make up the film. A film can lose its copyright in some of those elements while retaining copyright in other elements. Experts 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 whether the use of music in a film constitutes publication of the music for the purpose of copyright. Unpublished works are treated differently from published works under US copyright law.
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. The Supreme Court of the United States (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:
Determining 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 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 pre-1978 works that have been renewed in 1978 or later. Several pieces of work have been renewed in the form of collections, thus giving the collection as a whole copyright protection.
Missing or flawed copyright notice.
Films published before March 1, 1989 had to contain a valid copyright notice in order to claim copyright. At the bare minimum, the copyright notice had to include the word "copyright" or an acceptable abbreviation (like a circled C), the year of publication (which could not be more than one year ahead of the actual publication), and the name of any entity claiming the copyright.
For example, note the case of the animated TV series "The New 3 Stooges", pictured. Episodes of the series were published with an incomplete copyright notice with a year and copyright symbol but no claimant. The series was published prior to 1989, and the lack of an explicit claimant ensured that the series immediately lapsed into the public domain. Had the series been published after this date, its copyright may not have been invalidated.
As a result of the passage of the Berne Convention Implementation Act of 1988, a copyright notice is not required for films published on March 1, 1989 or later. An invalid notice or a lack of one would not invalidate the copyright to works published between 1978 and March 1, 1989 as long as a proper notice was added to subsequent copies.
Date of publication and renewal status.
All motion pictures made and exhibited before are indisputably in the public domain in the United States. This date will move forward one year, every year, meaning that films released in will enter the public domain in , films from in , and so on.
Films registered between and 1963 had to have their copyrights renewed in order for them not to enter the public domain. The semi-annual Copyright Catalog booklets have virtually complete lists of renewals for the films registered 28 years earlier. Those semi-annual booklets all are out of print. However, for through 1959, the Film Superlist books match copyright renewals with earlier registrations. Copyright registrations and renewals can be found in
As a result of the Copyright Renewal Act of 1992, copyrights registered between 1964 and later were automatically renewed.
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 1930 whose copyright was properly registered and renewed would enter the public domain on January 1, 2006). As such, all films released before 1923 would have entered the public domain by January 1, 1998. Although the CTEA added 20 years to the terms of all existing copyrights until 2019, it explicitly refused to revive any copyrights that had expired prior to its passage. On January 1, 2019, the 20-year extension expired and new works began entering the public domain each year thereafter.
Underlying rights.
Many of the movies listed below are based on novels, plays, magazine stories or a combination of these 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 cannot be used without permission.
Work of the United States 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.
Films.
All films that were released before , or are the work of the United States government, are now in the public domain in the United States. They are not listed here in order to keep this list to a manageable size. See for pre- films.
!Film title !! Release year !! Director !! Studio / Distributor !! Entered the public domain in (year) !! Reason for entering the public domain !! Note(s)