Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend: Bug Vaudeville

Under the current copyright laws of the United States, all works published or registered before January 1, 1929, have entered the public domain. This film, directed and animated by Winsor McCay as part of his 'Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend' series, was released in September 1921. Because the film was released in 1921, its initial 28-year copyright term and its potential 67-year renewal term (under the 1976 Act) have both expired. Even if the copyright had been properly registered and renewed, the absolute maximum duration of protection for works from this era was 95 years, which would have seen the work expire no later than 2016. Consequently, the work is now in the public domain regardless of renewal status.