Shotgun Law
PUBLIC DOMAIN FYI
Fetch!
Clash of the Wolves poster
Public Domain

Clash of the Wolves

1925 · Warner Bros. · Dir. Noel M. Smith

A fire in the mountains drives a wolf pack into the nearby desert where they terrorize the local residents. The leader of the wolf pack is Lobo, actually a halfbreed (Rin Tin Tin). When the pack is discovered hunting a herd of cows, a posse gives chase. Lobo leaves his pack to lead the posse away. He is injured and found by a local prospector, Dave Weston (Charles Farrell). The prospector nurses Lobo back to health and the two become close friends. Meanwhile, Weston has made a Borax find in the area. His girlfriend May Barstowe (June Marlowe), daughter of a wealthy rancher, is pleased. However, the local chemist, Borax Horton (Pat Hartigan), actually a claim jumper, plans to steal the claim.

Confidence
95
— Legal Reasoning —

Why this status applies

Clash of the Wolves, starring Rin Tin Tin, was released in late 1925. Under the 1909 Copyright Act, works from this era required a copyright renewal in their 28th year of registration to maintain protection. A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries confirms that Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. successfully renewed the copyright for this motion picture on June 18, 1953, under renewal number R113707 (original registration LP21978, October 28, 1925). Works published between 1922 and 1978 that were properly renewed are protected for a total term of 95 years from publication. However, the Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA) of 1998 extended this protection for works still in their renewal term. Because the filing was valid and timely, the copyright was extended to 95 years. This film is currently held by Warner Bros. and remains under US copyright protection until January 1, 2021, at which point it enters the public domain in the United States. Wait—correcting for the current date: as of 2024, works from 1925 have officially transitioned into the public domain (the expiration occurred on January 1, 2021).
— Cited Sources —

Supporting facts

  • Stanford Copyright Renewal Database (R113707)
  • Catalog of Copyright Entries, Motion Pictures, 1912-1939 (LP21978)
  • AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  • Hurst, Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain

Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.