Public Domain
My Wife's Relations
1922 · First National Pictures · Dir. Buster Keaton
Buster and a woman are mistakenly married and her initially unfriendly family begins to treat him nicely when they come to believe he has a large inheritance awaiting him.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
Under US copyright law, all works published or registered before January 1, 1929, have entered the public domain due to the expiration of their maximum 95-year copyright term. 'My Wife's Relations', a two-reel silent comedy starring Buster Keaton and Eddie Cline, was released on June 19, 1922, and registered with the Copyright Office during that same year.
Because the film was released well before the 1929 threshold, its copyright protection has expired regardless of whether it was renewed in its 28th year. The film is widely available in the public domain and has been included in numerous 'PD' collections and archive.org uploads without restriction.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ15a.pdf
- https://archive.org/details/MyWifesRelations
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0013426/
- 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.