Close-Up

The film 'Close-Up' (1948), directed by Jack Donohue and produced by Marathon Pictures, was registered for copyright at the time of its release. The original registration was filed on June 1, 1948, under the number LP1662 by Marathon Pictures Corp. Under the Copyright Act of 1909, works registered between 1928 and 1963 required a renewal filing with the U.S. Copyright Office during their 28th year of protection to extend the term to 75 (now 95) years. A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database, the University of Pennsylvania's online Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE), and the 'Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain' (Hurst/Baer) reveals no renewal record for this title. The copyright for 'Close-Up' should have been renewed in 1975 or 1976; however, no such filing was made by Marathon Pictures or any successor in interest. As a result of this failure to renew, the film entered the public domain in the United States upon the expiration of its initial 28-year term on December 31, 1976.