Public Domain
Rip Van Winkle
1914 · Rolfe Photoplays / Alco Film Corp. · Dir. Edwin Middleton
Rip Van Winkle, a lazy American man, wanders off one day with his dog Wolf into the Kaatskill mountains where he runs into an odd group of men drinking and playing bowls. He drinks some of their mysterious brew and passes out. When he wakes up under a tree he is astonished to find that 20 years have passed and things are a lot different. This is a charming story about how America changed due to the cival war, only in a different and more subtle way than ever told before.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
The film 'Rip Van Winkle' (1914) starring Thomas Jefferson (the son of Joseph Jefferson, who was famous for the same role on stage) is definitively in the public domain in the United States. Under current US copyright law, all works published or registered before January 1, 1928, have entered the public domain due to the expiration of their maximum 95-year copyright term.
According to the Library of Congress and the Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE), this specific production was registered by Rolfe Photoplays, Inc. in 1914 (Registration Number LP3753). Even if the copyright had been properly renewed 28 years later (around 1942), the extended 95-year term would have expired at the end of 2009. There is no legal mechanism for a 1914 US production to remain under copyright today.
Thomas Jefferson filmed this version to preserve the stage tradition established by his father, and while several earlier 'Rip Van Winkle' shorts exist (notably the 1896 Biograph series), this 1914 feature is the one specifically associated with the Jefferson family legacy from that era.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- Library of Congress: Catalog of Copyright Entries, Motion Pictures 1912-1939
- American Film Institute (AFI) Catalog of Feature Films
- Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
- Hurst, Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain 1894-1939
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.