Lonelyhearts

The film 'Lonelyhearts' (1958), directed by Vincent J. Donehue and based on the Nathanael West novel 'Miss Lonelyhearts,' is in the public domain in the United States. Under the Copyright Act of 1909, works published between 1928 and 1963 required a renewal filing with the U.S. Copyright Office during the 28th year of their first copyright term to remain protected. Research of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) reveals that while the film was originally registered for copyright on December 1, 1958 (Registration LP12740) by Dore Schary Productions, no renewal was ever filed by the copyright claimant or their successors in interest (such as United Artists, the original distributor) during the 1985–1986 renewal window. This failure to renew caused the film to fall into the public domain upon the expiration of its first 28-year term on December 31, 1986. The film is frequently cited in public domain filmographies (such as those compiled by David Pierce and the Film Superlist) as a title that lapsed due to non-renewal.