A Cat, a Mouse and a Bell

This animated short film was released on May 10, 1935, as part of the 'Toddle Tales' series by Van Beuren Studios and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures. Under the Copyright Act of 1909, works published between 1928 and 1963 required a renewal filing with the US Copyright Office during their 28th year of protection to extend copyright into a second term. A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) confirms that while the film was originally registered (Reg. No. LP5551), no renewal was filed by RKO or any successor in interest (such as Commonwealth Pictures) during the 1962–1963 eligibility window. The film subsequently entered the public domain upon the expiration of its first 28-year term. Its public domain status is further corroborated by its inclusion in various PD animation collections and its presence on the Internet Archive without restriction.