Gandahar

Gandahar is a French animated feature film released in France in 1987 and later in the US in 1988 (re-edited as 'Light Years' by Miramax). Because the film was produced and first published in France, a Berne Convention member, its US copyright status is governed by the URAA (17 USC § 104A). Under the URAA, foreign works that were in the public domain in the US due to lack of compliance with US formalities (such as the notice requirement) had their copyrights automatically restored on January 1, 1996, provided they were still under copyright in their source country on that date. In France, cinematographic works are protected for 70 years after the death of the last surviving co-author. As the director René Laloux passed away in 2004, the film remains under copyright in France and thus qualifies for URAA restoration in the US. Furthermore, the US version ('Light Years') was registered with the US Copyright Office by Miramax Films on January 26, 1988 (PA0000355490), ensuring protection under the 1976 Act's notice-and-registration window regardless of its foreign status. The film continues to be actively commercialized by rights holders, including a recent 4K restoration and Blu-ray release by Le Chat qui Fume and licensing to distributors like Eureka Video. Note: generated without live web grounding (the grounded research engine was unavailable). Verify the cited sources independently before relying on this determination.