Protected
Lust for a Vampire
1971 · Hammer Film Productions · Dir. Jimmy Sangster
In 1830, the Karnstein heirs use the blood of an innocent to bring forth the evil that is the beautiful Mircalla - or as she was in 1710, Carmilla. The nearby Finishing School offers rich pickings not only in in the blood of nubile young ladies but also with the headmaster who is desperate to become Mircalla's disciple, and the equally besotted and even more foolish author Richard Lestrange.
Confidence
85
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
Lust for a Vampire is a British production from Hammer Film Productions. For foreign works from this era (1964–1977), US copyright status is primarily determined by whether the film was published with a valid US copyright notice or, more crucially, whether it qualified for restoration under the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA) in 1996.
As a UK production, the film was protected in its country of origin on the URAA date (January 1, 1996). Under 17 USC § 104A, copyrights for such foreign works were automatically restored even if they had previously entered the public domain in the US due to non-compliance with formalities like notice or registration. The film is currently managed by StudioCanal (successor to Hammer's library) and is actively licensed for distribution by reputable US labels such as Shout! Factory, which released a high-definition restoration in 2019. This ongoing professional exploitation by major rights-holders and the automatic nature of URAA restoration for British films of this period strongly supports its protected status.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- 17 U.S.C. § 104A (URAA/GATT Restoration)
- British Film Institute (BFI) National Archive
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- Hammer Film Productions corporate history (StudioCanal acquisition)
- Shout! Factory / Scream Factory 2019 Blu-ray release documentation
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.