Protected
Attack of the Crab Monsters
1957 · Los Altos Productions / Allied Artists · Dir. Roger Corman
A group of scientists travel to a remote island to study the effects of nuclear weapons tests, only to get stranded when their airplane mysteriously explodes. The team soon discovers that the tests have given rise to crabs mutated into intelligent, impervious, telepathic giants intent on increasing their numbers by breeding, then travelling to populated areas to feed, and which do not intend to be stopped by their discoverers.
Confidence
95
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
Attack of the Crab Monsters was released in 1957, directed by Roger Corman. Under the 1909 Copyright Act, US films published between 1928 and 1963 required a renewal filing in their 28th year to maintain protection. Research into the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) and the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database confirms that the film was originally registered by Los Altos Productions on February 12, 1957 (LP7802) and was subsequently renewed by the same entity in August 1985 (RE253723).
The colorized version mentioned is a derivative work. Since the base black-and-white film remains under copyright protection, the colorized version (regardless of its own registration status) remains protected as an authorized derivative work until the original copyright expires. The copyright for the original film will not expire until 95 years after publication, which is January 1, 2053.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- Stanford Copyright Renewal Database
- U. Penn Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) - Motion Pictures 1950-1959
- IMDb
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films (1950-1959)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.