Hidden Fear

Hidden Fear (1957) was originally registered for copyright by St. Aubrey-Kohn Productions (and/or Arwin Productions) and released through United Artists. The film was registered in the US Copyright Office on July 10, 1957, under registration number LP8927. According to the copyright law applicable to works published between 1928 and 1963, a copyright must be renewed during the 28th year to prevent the work from falling into the public domain. A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database, the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE), and David Pierce's 'Motion Picture Copyrights and Renewals 1950–1959' indicates that no renewal was ever filed for this title. The copyright would have needed to be renewed in 1985 (the 28th year following publication). Because no renewal was filed, the film's US copyright expired, and it entered the public domain on January 1, 1986. The film also appears in the Hurst/Baer 'Film Superlist' as a public domain title due to non-renewal. Furthermore, it is frequently found on public domain film platforms and distributed by labels known for PD releases, such as Alpha Video, with no records of enforcement by the original rights holders.