Public Domain
Arctic Flight
1952 · Monogram Pictures / Allied Artists · Dir. Lew Landers
Mike Wein, an Alaskan bush pilot operating the the Bering Sea area, makes friends with John W. Wetherby, posing as a wealthy United States businessman. But, in reality, he is a Russian spy on his way to Siberia carrying microfilms of the United States' defense installations.
Confidence
95
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
Arctic Flight was registered for copyright by Monogram Pictures Corp. on October 7, 1952 (LP1977). Under the Copyright Act of 1909, works registered between 1928 and 1963 required a renewal filing with the US Copyright Office during the 28th year of the first term to maintain protection. For a 1952 release, the renewal window was open in 1979 and 1980.
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. Monogram's successor, Allied Artists, was undergoing significant financial distress and reorganization during the late 1970s, which often resulted in a failure to renew copyrights for their B-movie catalog. Because the renewal was not filed, the work entered the public domain in the United States on January 1, 1981.
The film's public domain status is further corroborated by its inclusion in various PD film catalogs and its presence on the Internet Archive for years without takedown notices from any claimant.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE), Motion Pictures 1951-1953, Registration LP1977
- Stanford Copyright Renewal Database (No renewal found for LP1977)
- Hurst, Richard Maurice. 'Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain 1950-1959'
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.