A Lively Affair

Under the Copyright Act of 1976 and the subsequent Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, all works published or registered in the United States before January 1, 1928, have entered the public domain. This film, a short comedy produced by the Kinemacolor Company of America, was released in September 1912. Because the film was released well before the 1928 cutoff, its copyright protection has expired by operation of law. No search for renewal is required, as even if the copyright had been perfectly maintained through his original 28-year term and a subsequent renewal term, it would have lapsed no later than 87 years after publication (under the laws preceding the 1998 extension) or has now simply crossed the absolute 95-year threshold for works of that era.