Moonrise

The film Moonrise (1948), directed by Frank Borzage and produced by Charles K. Feldman Group / Marshall Grant Productions and released through Republic Pictures, entered the public domain in the United States because its copyright was not renewed. Under the 1909 Copyright Act, works published between 1928 and 1963 required a formal renewal during the 28th year of their first copyright term to extend protection to the full 95-year duration. A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) reveals that while the film was originally registered (LP2161, under Republic Pictures Corp., 1948), no renewal filing exists for the year 1976 (the 28th year). Because the renewal was a mandatory formality for this era, the failure to file resulted in the film's expiration at the end of its first 28-year term. Secondary film copyright authorities, including David Pierce’s 'Motion Picture Copyrights and Renewals' and the Baer 'Film Superlist,' confirm the absence of a renewal. The film is widely distributed today by public domain labels and is available on the Internet Archive without restriction, further corroborating its status.