Public Domain
Cupid's Pranks
1908 · Edison Manufacturing Company · Dir. J. Searle Dawley
After receiving a scolding for falling asleep on the job, Cupid is sent out in search of potential lovers to unite. While flying over a city, he finds a ballroom dance and identifies a likely couple. He is successful in getting them to meet, but many obstacles still stand in the way of Cupid achieving his goal for them.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
Cupid's Pranks was released in February 1908 by the Edison Manufacturing Company. As a motion picture published before January 1, 1928, it has entered the public domain in the United States regardless of whether the copyright was originally registered or subsequently renewed.
The 1998 Copyright Term Extension Act established a maximum 95-year term for works published between 1923 and 1977. However, all works published prior to 1928 have now seen their copyright terms expire. This film, being a 116-year-old production, is part of the corpus of early silent cinema that is definitively free of copyright restrictions in the US. Physical copies and digital scans are preserved by institutions such as the Library of Congress and the Museum of Modern Art.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- Library of Congress: Motion Pictures, 1894-1912 (1953) CCE
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films (1893–1910)
- Hurst, Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (1894-1939)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.