President Coolidge, Taken on the White House Grounds

This short film, featuring President Calvin Coolidge being filmed on the White House lawn on August 11, 1924, is in the public domain for two primary reasons. First, it was published in the United States in 1924; because it was published before January 1, 1928, its copyright has expired by law regardless of registration or renewal status. Even if the film had a later publication date, it falls under the 1909 and 1976 Copyright Acts' provisions for works of the United States Government. While the film was produced using the De Forest Phonofilm sound-on-film process, the subject matter—a sitting President delivering an address in his official capacity on White House grounds—is generally treated as a work of the federal government or a public record. However, the 1924 release year by itself is a definitive trigger for public domain status under the current US term of 95 years, which has elapsed for all works published prior to 1928.