Public Domain
Max Wants a Divorce
1917 · Essanay Film Manufacturing Company · Dir. Max Linder
Max is forced to choose between losing his newly wedded wife and a fortune. He hits upon a brilliant scheme: He will give his wife grounds for a divorce, secure the money and then make his ex-wife Mrs. Linder again. He goes through any amount of trouble in helping her to get the necessary evidence, only to find that it is all a mistake on the part of a stupid lawyer - the money and the wife are both to be his.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
The film 'Max Wants a Divorce' was released in the United States on February 15, 1917, during Max Linder's brief tenure at the Essanay Film Manufacturing Company in Chicago. Under U.S. copyright law, all works published or registered before January 1, 1928, have entered the public domain due to the expiration of the statutory copyright term (the maximum possible term for works of this era being 95 years, which would have ended in 2012).
Even if the film had been properly registered with the U.S. Copyright Office and its copyright had been renewed in its 28th year (which would have occurred in 1944 or 1945), those protections have long since lapsed. As a production from 1917, it is definitively in the public domain in the United States, regardless of the status of its registration or renewal records.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/public_domain_film_factsheet.pdf
- https://archive.org/details/catalogofcopyrig141libr
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0008279/
- Hurst, Richard Maurice. (2007). Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (1894-1939).
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.