Public Domain
One Week
1920 · Metro Pictures / Commique Film Corporation · Dir. Buster Keaton
Newlyweds receive a build-it-yourself house as a wedding gift—and the house can, supposedly, be built in "one week". A rejected suitor secretly re-numbers packing crates, and the husband struggles to assemble the house according to this new 'arrangement' of its parts.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
The film 'One Week', starring Buster Keaton, was released in September 1920. Under U.S. copyright law, all works published before January 1, 1928, have entered the public domain. This transition occurs regardless of whether a copyright was registered or renewed, as the maximum possible term for works from this era has expired.
As a 1920 release, 'One Week' entered the public domain in the United States on January 1, 1996, at the completion of its 75-year term (calculated as publication year + 75 years under the law in effect at that time, before the 1998 Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act added an additional 20 years to works still under protection). Even under the current 95-year rule for subsisting copyrights, this film would have expired no later than the end of 2015. There is no legal mechanism for a 1920 U.S. film to remain under copyright today.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.