Shotgun Law
PUBLIC DOMAIN FYI
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Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall poster
Public Domain

Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall

1924 · Mary Pickford Company / United Artists · Dir. Marshall Neilan

In the year 1550, Sir George Vernon agrees to have his young daughter Dorothy betrothed to John Manners, the son of the Earl of Rutland. Sir George signs a contract, promising that the marriage will take place on Dorothy's 18th birthday, or else he will have to pay a large penalty to Rutland. But when the two children have grown older, rumors of John's wild behavior in France provoke Sir George to call off the engagement, and to pledge his daughter instead to her cousin Malcolm. Rutland now claims the forfeit from Sir George, and meanwhile, John has befriended Mary Stuart, the sworn enemy of Elizabeth, who is now Queen of England.

Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —

Why this status applies

Under current US copyright law, all works published or registered before January 1, 1928, have entered the public domain. This film was released by United Artists in May 1924 and registered for copyright by the Mary Pickford Company on May 19, 1924 (registration number LP20216). Because the film was published before the 1928 cutoff, its copyright protection expired 95 years after publication at the latest, though it had already entered the public domain under previous statutes or lack of subsequent renewals before the 1998 term extensions. Regardless of its renewal status in the 1950s, the pre-1928 date is definitive for public domain status in the United States as of 2024.
— Cited Sources —

Supporting facts

  • U.S. Copyright Office, Catalog of Copyright Entries: Motion Pictures 1912-1939
  • Stanford University Copyright Renewal Database
  • The American Film Institute (AFI) Catalog of Feature Films
  • 17 U.S.C. § 304

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