Public Domain
Police Chasing Scorching Auto
1906 · Biograph Company
Police officers pursue a speeding automobile that almost hit a small child. This short is an outtake from Life of an American Policeman (1905). Once that film had been edited to fit a standard 1,000 foot reel, this sequence was left over, so it was sold as a separate short.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
The film 'Police Chasing Scorching Auto' was released in 1906 by the Biograph Company (formally the American Mutoscope & Biograph Co.). It was registered for US copyright as a paper print (a common practice of the era to ensure protection before films were explicitly covered by copyright law) with the filing date of June 18, 1906, under registration number H78771.
According to US copyright law, all works published or registered before January 1, 1928, have entered the public domain. This applies regardless of whether the copyright was originally renewed, as the maximum possible term of 95 years from publication has expired for all works from this era. As a 1906 production, this film became public domain in the United States no later than 1981 (at the end of the 75-year term applicable to works from that year under the 1976 Act).
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Laser Recording Division (Paper Print Collection)
- Niver, Kemp R. Early Motion Pictures: The Paper Print Collection in the Library of Congress (1985)
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films (Short Film Records)
- U.S. Copyright Office, Catalog of Copyright Entries: Motion Pictures 1894-1912
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.