Rulers of the City

Rulers of the City (Italian title: I padroni della città) is a 1976 Italian poliziottesco film starring Jack Palance. Since it was published between 1964 and 1977, it fell under the 1909 Copyright Act's notice requirements for US protection. A search of the US Copyright Office online records and the Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) does not return a contemporaneous US registration for this film under its English or Italian titles, nor is there evidence of a timely US copyright notice on its initial North American release prints. Because this is a foreign-shot film, its US copyright status is heavily dependent on the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA). Under the URAA, a foreign work's US copyright was automatically restored on January 1, 1996, provided the work was still under copyright in its source country (Italy) and had not entered the US public domain due to the expiration of a full term. While the film is likely still protected in Italy (where copyright lasts for 70 years after the death of the director), the lack of a verifiable US registration or a recorded 'Notice of Intent to Enforce' (NIE) restored copyright filed with the US Copyright Office makes its current US enforcement status uncertain. Without primary evidence of a US filing or a definitive finding of defective notice, the record is silent.