Public Domain
Her Nephews from Labrador
1913 · Champion Film Company / Universal Film Manufacturing Company
Two boys from Labrador, Canada, visit their aunt in Westcheser, New York. Although it's in the middle of a cold winter in New York, the nephews from Labrador are used to much colder weather and think the New York winter is too warm for them, and act accordingly.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
The film 'Her Nephews from Labrador' is a American silent comedy short produced by the Champion Film Company (at that time a brand under the Universal umbrella) and released on May 12, 1913. Under current US copyright law, particularly the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998, all works published in the United States prior to January 1, 1928, have entered the public domain regardless of registration or renewal status.
Since this film was released in 1913, its maximum possible copyright term expired no later than 75 years after publication under the 1976 Act, and it would have entered the public domain on January 1, 1989. Even if the law had been different, the current 'cutoff' for public domain status in the US is the end of 1927. As such, the film is definitively in the public domain and available for any use without permission from the original producer.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- The Moving Picture World, Vol. 16 (April-June 1913), p. 624 (Release Date Listing)
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films (noting the era of short films via archive records)
- Hurst, Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain 1894-1939
- 17 U.S.C. § 304 (Copyright Act of 1976 and subsequent extensions)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.