Manslaughter

The film Manslaughter, directed by Cecil B. DeMille and produced by Famous Players-Lasky, was released in the United States in 1922. Under current US copyright law (17 U.S.C. § 304), all works published or registered before January 1, 1928, have entered the public domain due to the expiration of their maximum 95-year copyright term. Even before the automatic expiration, this film was subject to the requirements of the 1909 Copyright Act, which required a renewal registration in the 28th year to extend protection. While many DeMille films from this era were indeed renewed by Paramount, the 1922 date makes its status as public domain absolute regardless of renewal history as of January 1, 2018.