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Under the 1909 Copyright Act, works published between 1928 and 1963 required a renewal filing in the 28th year to maintain protection. This first film adaptation of Fannie Hurst's novel was originally registered for copyright on August 24, 1932 (LP3214). A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries confirms that Universal Pictures (then Universal Film Exchanges, Inc.) timely filed a renewal on August 31, 1959 (R241695). Because the copyright was successfully renewed, the film's term was extended under the Copyright Act of 1976 and the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998, providing coverage for 95 years from the publication date. Consequently, the film will not enter the public domain in the United States until January 1, 2028. Later versions of the story (such as the 1941 and 1961 remakes) were also timely renewed and are similarly protected.