Hit and Run

Under the 1909 Copyright Act, works published between 1928 and 1963 required a renewal filing with the US Copyright Office during the 28th year of their first copyright term to remain protected. A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) reveals that while 'Hit and Run' was originally registered for copyright on March 5, 1957 (LP7954), no renewal was filed in the 28-year window (1984–1985). Because the film was a US production by Hugo Haas Productions and distributed by United Artists, it does not benefit from treaty-based restoration (URAA) which applies only to foreign-origin works. The failure to renew the copyright in 1985 resulted in the film entering the public domain in the United States. This is consistent with its inclusion in several public domain film catalogs and its availability on platforms like the Internet Archive without restriction.