A Boy, a Gun, and Birds

Under the Copyright Act of 1909, works published in the United States between 1928 and 1963 required a timely renewal with the U.S. Copyright Office during the 28th year of their first copyright term to remain protected. 'A Boy, a Gun, and Birds' is a 'Color Rhapsody' animated short produced by Screen Gems for Columbia Pictures. It was originally registered for copyright on 1940-01-12 under registration number MP9923. To maintain copyright protection, a renewal application should have been filed in 1967 or 1968. A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) reveals no record of renewal for this title. While Columbia Pictures renewed many of its theatrical features and major shorts (such as The Three Stooges or Looney Tunes distributed by them), many of the 'Color Rhapsody' entries were allowed to lapse. Consequently, the work entered the public domain in the United States upon the expiration of its initial 28-year term on 1968-01-12.