Public Domain
Riders of the Law
1922 · Sunset Productions · Dir. Robert N. Bradbury
Jack Meadows and sidekick Toby are looking for whiskey smugglers along the Canadian border. They find a badly wounded Seriff who earlier caught one of them and a nearby hoofprint of a horse with a broken shoe. Setting up a blacksmith shop, they soon find the owner of that horse and replace the shoe with another that will let them trace him.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
The film 'Riders of the Law' (directed by Robert North Bradbury and starring Jack Hoxie) was released in 1922. Under US copyright law, all works published before January 1, 1928, have entered the public domain regardless of whether they were originally registered or renewed. The 95-year maximum term for works of this era has expired.
Since this film was released in 1922, its copyright would have expired no later than 1997 (at the end of a 75-year term under the 1976 Act) or earlier if the copyright was never renewed after its initial 28-year term. Currently, all works from 1922 are universally recognized as public domain in the United States as of January 1, 2018.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ15a.pdf
- https://archive.org/details/riders-of-the-law-1922
- IMDb: Riders of the Law (1922)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.