Monstrosity

Monstrosity (also known by its television title 'The Atomic Brain') was produced in 1963 and released theatrically in the United States in early 1964. Under the copyright laws in effect at the time (specifically the 1909 Copyright Act), works required a valid copyright notice upon publication and a subsequent renewal registration during the 28th year to maintain protection. While the film was produced during the transition window (1963), it falls into the group of films published before 1964 that required active renewal. A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) reveals no renewal registration for this title or its alternative title. Because the copyright was not renewed in its 28th year (circa 1991), the film fell into the public domain. Its status as a public domain work is widely documented by its inclusion in numerous 'PD' multi-film packs from distributors like Mill Creek Entertainment and Alpha Video, as well as its presence on the Internet Archive without takedowns and its featuring on Mystery Science Theater 3000 (which frequently utilized public domain films to avoid licensing costs).