A Fistful of Dollars

A Fistful of Dollars (Per un pugno di dollari) was originally released in Italy in 1964 and in the United States in 1967. Although it is a foreign production, it is currently protected in the U.S. under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA). Under 17 USC § 104A, the U.S. copyright for foreign works was automatically restored on January 1, 1996, provided the work was still under copyright in its source country and had not entered the U.S. public domain due to expiration of term. In its source country (Italy), the film is protected for 70 years after the death of the last surviving principal creator (director Sergio Leone died in 1989), meaning it was clearly under copyright in Italy in 1996. While there were historical arguments regarding defective copyright notice on early U.S. prints, the URAA restoration bypasses notice and renewal defects for foreign works. The rights are currently managed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in the U.S., which continues to actively license the film for streaming, home video (via Kino Lorber), and theatrical screenings. Note: generated without live web grounding (the grounded research engine was unavailable). Verify the cited sources independently before relying on this determination.