In the Beginning

The film 'In the Beginning' (1937), directed by Howard Bretherton, was a US production. Under the Copyright Act of 1909, 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 extend protection for a second term. If no renewal was filed, the work entered the public domain upon the expiration of the initial 28-year term. A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) reveals no renewal record for this title or for the original claimant (Screen Classics). The film was not renewed in 1964 or 1965, which would have been the mandatory window. Consequently, the film fell into the public domain in the United States on January 1, 1966. This is consistent with its inclusion in numerous public domain film catalogs and its availability on archive.org without copyright restrictions.