Protected
Pickup on South Street
1953 · Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp. · Dir. Samuel Fuller
In New York City, an insolent pickpocket, Skip McCoy, inadvertently sets off a chain of events when he targets ex-prostitute Candy and steals her wallet. Unaware that she has been making deliveries of highly classified information to the communists, Candy, who has been trailed by FBI agents for months in hopes of nabbing the spy ringleader, is sent by her ex-boyfriend, Joey, to find Skip and retrieve the valuable microfilm he now holds.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
Pickup on South Street was released in 1953, placing it within the 1928–1963 window where copyright status is determined by whether the initial registration was renewed during the 28th year of the first term. A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress records confirms that the copyright was successfully renewed.
The original registration was filed by Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp. on June 10, 1953, under registration number LP2715. The renewal was filed on May 15, 1981, by Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp. under renewal number RE-93-018. Because this renewal was timely and valid, the film remains under copyright protection in the United States for a term of 95 years from its original publication year. It is scheduled to enter the public domain on January 1, 2049.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- Stanford Copyright Renewal Database (entry for RE-93-018)
- U.S. Copyright Office Online Catalog (cocatalog.loc.gov)
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films (Pickup on South Street, 1953)
- Hurst, Richard Maurice. Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain (Reference for LP2715)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.