How Long Does a Movie Copyright Last?
Movie copyrights fall under the same protections as other creative works recognized by federal law. The average term is 70 to 95 years, depending on whether the film appeared before or after Jan. 1, 1978. However, many films created between 1910 and 1950 are off-limits, because their ownership rights remain unclear. Recent trends favoring lengthier renewal extensions cause critics to question whose interest is served, since only a small percentage of copyrighted works retain commercial value.
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Copyright Basics
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Films fall under federal protections outlined in Title 17 of the U.S. Code, according to the U.S. Copyright Office. Eight basic categories are recognized, including motion pictures. Works created on or before Jan. 1, 1978, are automatically protected from their first appearance in tangible form for an author's lifetime, plus 70 years after her death. Works created before 1978 were originally renewable after 28 years. However, in 1998, Congress extended the renewal terms for those earlier works to 67 years, making the total term 95 years.
Copyright Extensions
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The Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act marked a major change, because it added 20 years onto the original renewal period. Critics mocked the 1998 law as the "Mickey Mouse Protection Act," because the Walt Disney Corporation was its biggest proponent, according to "The Boston Globe." Without the law, Disney's iconic figure of Mickey Mouse -- who first appeared onscreen in 1998 -- would have passed into the public domain. Upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in January 2003, the law kept Disney's hold on Mickey through 2023.
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Orphan Films
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One of the knottiest problems is the status of "orphan films," which have no ascertainable owner. These works include documentaries, instructional films, newsreels, and Hollywood productions. However, many of these films may be lost forever, because current copyright law prevents their distribution and preservation, according to Duke University's Center for the Study of the Public Domain. For example, roughly half the Museum of Modern Art's 13,000 films fall into this category, with many disintegrating due to age, the center states. About 90 percent of 1910-era films have already been lost.
Public Domain
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As current copyright law goes, only works created before 1923 will fall into the public domain, when anyone may have access to them, according to the center. Even then, the pool of such works has shrunk, because the 1998 law made the lengthier renewal terms retroactive. As a result, many copyrighted works -- including films -- would not become public domain before 2019, the center's analysis states. Only 2 percent of all copyrighted works retain commercial value, causing critics to question whose interest is served by the lengthier renewal periods.
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