Air Devils

Air Devils was released by Universal Pictures on May 1, 1938. Under the Copyright Act of 1909, works published between 1928 and 1963 required a renewal filing with the US Copyright Office during the 28th year of their first term to maintain protection. If not renewed, the work entered the public domain at the end of its 28th year. A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) reveals no renewal registration for this title. While Universal famously renewed the vast majority of its library, this specific B-movie production from their 1930s slate was allowed to lapse. Because the first 28-year term expired in 1966 without a renewal filing, the film entered the public domain in the United States on January 1, 1967. This status is corroborated by the film's presence in the Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (1900-1939) by Hurst and Baer, and its widespread availability through public domain distributors such as Alpha Video and Sinister Cinema.