Public Domain
Plunder Road
1957 · Regal Films · Dir. Hubert Cornfield
A spectacular heist starts to unravel as the crooks take it on the lam.
Confidence
95
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
Plunder Road was released in 1957 and registered for copyright by Regal Films, Inc., on November 13, 1957 (LP10191). Under the 1909 Copyright Act, works registered between 1928 and 1963 required a manual renewal filing with the US Copyright Office during the 28th year of the initial term to extend protection.
A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) reveals no renewal registration for this title. If the copyright had been renewed, it would have occurred in 1985. Because no renewal was filed, the copyright expired at the end of its first 28-year term, and the film entered the public domain in the United States on January 1, 1986. The film is widely recognized as public domain by film historians and is frequently distributed by public domain specialty labels.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- Stanford Copyright Renewal Database (No renewal record found for LP10191)
- Catalog of Copyright Entries, Third Series, Volume 11, Parts 12-13, Number 2 (Original Registration LP10191)
- Hurst, Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain 1950-1959
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films (1951-1960)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.