Public Domain
Catnip Capers
1940 · Terrytoons / 20th Century Fox · Dir. Mannie Davis
The cat-of-the-house is a nuisance to the mice on a cheese-raid in the kitchen. They overturn a box of catnip, cat partakes, and cat goes on a binge via dreamland and transportation by a pink elephant. THe cat's nightmare gamuts range from Oriental splendors to being chased by a green-eyed train.
Confidence
95
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
Catnip Capers is a Terrytoons animated short directed by Mannie Davis and released by 20th Century Fox on May 17, 1940. Under the Copyright Act of 1909, works published between 1928 and 1963 required a manual renewal filing with the US Copyright Office during their 28th year of protection to extend their copyright term to 95 years.
A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) reveals no renewal record for this title. While many 1940 Terrytoons were subsequently renewed by CBS (the successor in interest), Catnip Capers was notably omitted from the renewal filings. Because the initial 28-year term expired in 1968 without a renewal being filed, the work entered the public domain in the United States at that time.
The film's public domain status is widely recognized in filmographic databases and it is frequently included in public domain cartoon compilations and archives without challenge from the current rights holders of the Terrytoons library.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- Stanford University Copyright Renewal Database
- Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries, Motion Pictures 1912-1939 and 1940-1949
- Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (Hurst/Baer)
- The Terrytoons Filmography (Lenburg)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.