Public Domain
Bobby Bumps Starts a Lodge
1916 · Bray Productions · Dir. Earl Hurd
Bobby Bumps invited his black neighbor to join his "lodge." But first he has to be initiated. The neighbor cleverly avoids getting rammed in the behind by Bobby's goat, but as he's running away, finds himself in a precarious position with a wild bear. Bobby saved his friend, but quickly he finds himself in an even worse situation with the bear and needs the friend to return the favor. They both agree to be initiated together, and the final joke is on Bobby's poor goat.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
The film 'Bobby Bumps Starts a Lodge' is a US-produced animated short directed by Earl Hurd and released in 1916 as part of the Bray-Paramount Pictograph series. Under the Copyright Act of 1909 and the subsequent 1998 Copyright Term Extension Act, any work published in the United States before January 1, 1928, has reached the end of its maximum statutory copyright term.
Because this work was published in 1916, its copyright expired no later than the end of 1991 (75 years after publication, assuming a valid renewal was filed). Currently, all works published before 1928 are definitively in the public domain in the United States regardless of renewal status. There are no restoration or extension provisions that apply to US works of this vintage.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- https://archive.org/details/BobbyBumpsStartsALodge1916
- https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/public_domain_film_factsheet.pdf
- https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0461877/
- Hurst, Richard Maurice. 'Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain 1894-1939'.
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.