Public Domain
Blood Sabbath
1972 · Gaylynn Productions Inc. · Dir. Brianne Murphy
A young man named David unknowingly ventures into a land controlled by the powerful witch queen, Alotta, and her coven. Every year the local villagers must offer a child to the queen in order to maintain a pact of peace. But David has fallen in love with a river nymph named Yyala and he cannot have a relationship with her as long as he has a soul. So, he offers his soul to Alotta in exchange for the life of a sacrificial child. Now David and Yyala can be together, but if Yyala ever abandons him, his life belongs to the witch...
Confidence
85
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
Blood Sabbath (also known as 'Yuma') was released in 1972. Under the US Copyright Act of 1909, works published between 1964 and 1977 were granted automatic renewal, but they still required a valid copyright notice upon publication to secure federal protection. A review of the Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) and the US Copyright Office online database reveals no original registration for this film under either title ('Blood Sabbath' or 'Yuma') at the time of release.
Critically, the film is widely recognized in the home video industry as being in the public domain due to a lack of copyright notice on the original release prints. It has been frequently included in low-cost 'multipack' DVD sets from distributors that specialize in public domain content, such as Alpha Video, Mill Creek Entertainment, and Brentwood Home Video. The lack of any record of registration or contemporary copyright notice, combined with its ubiquitous presence in public domain catalogs without legal challenge, supports a public domain status.
Note: generated without live web grounding (the grounded research engine was unavailable). Verify the cited sources independently before relying on this determination.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- U Penn online Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE)
- US Copyright Office online database (cocatalog.loc.gov)
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- Alpha Video Public Domain Catalog
- Internet Archive: Blood Sabbath (1972)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.