Chateau Thierry and Beyond

The film 'Chateau Thierry and Beyond' (1919) is in the public domain for two distinct legal reasons. First, all works published before January 1, 1929, have entered the public domain in the United States due to the expiration of their copyright terms. As a 1919 production, its copyright would have expired no later than the end of 1994, even if it had been properly registered and renewed. Second, the film was produced by the U.S. Army Signal Corps during World War I. Under 17 U.S.C. § 105, copyright protection is not available for any work of the United States Government. As a work prepared by an officer or employee of the U.S. government as part of that person's official duties, it was born into the public domain at the time of its creation. The film is currently held in the National Archives (NARA) and is widely available through the Library of Congress and Internet Archive as a public domain government record.