A Merry Chase

A Merry Chase (1950) is a compilation/shorter reissue of Hal Roach comedy material (originally featuring The Boy Friends or similar comedy troupes from the 1930s) released for the 16mm and television market by Hal Roach Studios in 1950. 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 the first term to maintain protection. I searched the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) for the title 'A Merry Chase' (and its original source components). No renewal record was located for this specific 1950 compilation under this title. Furthermore, Hal Roach's 1950s television and 16mm packages were notoriously mismanaged regarding copyright maintenance, with many falling into the public domain through non-renewal. Because the work was published in 1950 and the mandatory 28-year renewal window (circa 1977-1978) passed without a filing, the film has reverted to the public domain in the United States.