Public Domain
A Battle for a Bottle
1942 · Fleischer Studios / Paramount Pictures · Dir. Alec Geiss
A cat literally uses his nine lives to get a bottle of milk off of a porch guarded by a bulldog.
Confidence
95
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
A Battle for a Bottle (1942) is a short animated film from the 'Noveltoon' series, produced by Fleischer Studios (transferred to Famous Studios during production) and distributed by Paramount Pictures. Under the 1909 Copyright Act, works published between 1928 and 1963 required a renewal filing with the US Copyright Office during the 28th year of their first copyright term to remain protected.
A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) shows no renewal record for this title. While Paramount and its successor, U.M. & M. TV Corp, renewed many theatrical shorts from this era, this specific title was omitted from renewal filings. Consequently, the copyright expired at the end of its first 28-year term in 1970.
The film is widely recognized in the public domain and appears on numerous PD compilation sets and archive.org. Because it was a US production first published in the US, it is not eligible for copyright restoration under the URAA, which only applies to foreign works.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- Stanford Copyright Renewal Database (Checked for 1969-1971 renewals)
- Hurst, Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (1894-1939, 1940-1949 volumes)
- Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries: Motion Pictures (1912-1939, 1940-1949)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.