Public Domain
Chasing Trouble
1940 · Monogram Pictures Corporation · Dir. Howard Bretherton
A delivery boy for a flower shop, who thinks of himself as an amateur detective, finds out that his boss is mixed up with a foreign espionage ring.
Confidence
95
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
The film 'Chasing Trouble' was released by Monogram Pictures on January 30, 1940. Under the Copyright Act of 1909, works published between 1928 and 1963 required a manual renewal of copyright with the US Copyright Office during the 28th year of their first term to maintain protection for a second term.
A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) reveals no renewal registration for this title or for its underlying production by Monogram. The film was registered for its first term on February 7, 1940 (LP9438), but the failure to renew in 1967 or 1968 caused the work to lapse into the public domain upon the expiration of its initial 28-year term. The 'Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain' (Hurst/Baer) confirms this title as a public domain work due to non-renewal.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- Stanford Copyright Renewal Database
- Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE), Motion Pictures 1912-1939/1940-1949
- Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (1894-1939; 1940-1949 volumes)
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films (1931-1940)
- IMDb: Chasing Trouble (1940)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.