Protected
Murder in the Clouds
1934 · First National Pictures / Warner Bros. · Dir. D. Ross Lederman
Bob Halsey is a first-rate pilot who's in love with stewardess Judy Wagner. He's ordered to deliver a secret formula to Washington, D.C., but a spy hears about the assignment and sabotages it by murdering Bob's fellow flyers and making off with the liquid. While the government conducts a vast search for the formula, the spies entangle Judy in their web of deceit, causing Bob to set off on his own in an effort to save his sweetheart and retrieve the missing mixture.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
Murder in the Clouds is a 1934 American aviation-themed mystery-thriller directed by D. Ross Lederman. Under the Copyright Act of 1909, works published between 1928 and 1963 required a renewal filing with the US Copyright Office during their 28th year to maintain protection for a second term. Failure to renew would result in the work entering the public domain.
Searching the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) confirms that the film's copyright was successfully renewed. The original registration was LP5165 on December 21, 1934, by First National Pictures, Inc. The renewal was filed on February 12, 1962, by United Artists Television, Inc. (under registration number R290744), as the successor in interest to the original claimant. Because it was renewed within the statutory window, it is protected under the 1976 Copyright Act for 95 years from the original publication date, and is not scheduled to enter the public domain in the US until January 1, 2030.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- Stanford Copyright Renewal Database (R290744)
- U Penn Catalog of Copyright Entries: Motion Pictures 1912-1939 (LP5165)
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films (Murder in the Clouds, 1934)
- Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain, Vol. 2 (1940-1949) / Hurst (cross-referenced for 1934 series)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.