Ben Hur

The 1907 'Ben Hur' (also known as 'Ben-Hur') is a seminal work in US copyright history, but its status is definitively public domain today primarily due to its age. As a work published in the United States prior to January 1, 1928, its copyright has expired as a matter of law under the 1976 Copyright Act and its subsequent extensions. This specific production is famous for the landmark case 'Kalem Co. v. Harper Bros.' (1911), in which the Supreme Court ruled that the film violated the copyright of the original novel because the studio failed to obtain motion picture rights. While the legal battle established important precedents for derivative works, the film's own copyright term lasted for a maximum of 56 years (an initial 28-year term plus a 28-year renewal) under the laws of that era. Even if it had been validly registered and renewed, it would have entered the public domain in the mid-1960s. Today, all works published before 1928 are in the public domain in the US.