Public Domain
Go West
1925 · Buster Keaton Productions · Dir. Buster Keaton
With little luck at keeping a job in the city a New Yorker tries work in the country and eventually finds his way leading a herd of cattle to the West Coast.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
Under the current laws of the United States, specifically the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998, all works published or registered before January 1, 1928, have entered the public domain. This film was released by Metro-Goldwyn Pictures on November 1, 1925, and registered for copyright in the same year (LP21976).
Because the film was published in 1925, its maximum statutory copyright protection lasted for 95 years, which expired on January 1, 2021. As of that date, the film is legally considered public domain in the US, regardless of whether a renewal was filed or who currently holds the physical elements. Any modern additions mentioned in the title (such as 'HD' transfers or 'Score') may have their own separate copyright as derivative works, but the underlying 1925 motion picture is free of copyright restrictions.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- U.S. Copyright Office, Catalog of Copyright Entries: Motion Pictures 1912–1939
- Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (1894-1939)
- Hirtle, Peter B. 'Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States'
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films: Go West (1925)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.