Criminals Within

Criminals Within was originally registered for US copyright by Producers Releasing Corp. on June 27, 1941, under registration number LP10620. As a film released between 1928 and 1963, US copyright law required the owner to file a renewal with the Copyright Office during the 28th year of the first term to extend 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 registration number LP10620. Because PRC (a 'Poverty Row' studio) frequently failed to renew its library and eventually dissolved, the film entered the public domain in the United States upon the expiration of its initial 28-year term in 1969. The colorized version mentioned by the user does not restore copyright to the underlying black-and-white work; under US law, only the specific colorized elements might be protected as a derivative work, while the original film remains free to use.