His Only Pair

Under the current copyright laws of the United States, all works published or registered before January 1, 1928, have entered the public domain. This film, directed by Wallace McCutcheon and produced by the American Mutoscope & Biograph Company, was released/registered in 1902. Consequently, it has surpassed the maximum possible duration of copyright protection (95 years from the date of publication for works of this era). Records for American Mutoscope & Biograph productions from this period are well-documented in the Library of Congress (Paper Print Collection), confirming its 1902 release. There are no legal mechanisms under current U.S. law to extend copyright for a work of this vintage; it entered the public domain no later than 1978 under the previous 75-year rule, which has since been superseded by the 95-year limit for works that were still under copyright at the time of the 1998 extension—but 1902 works were already public domain by then.