Spider Baby or, The Maddest Story Ever Told

Spider Baby (filmed in 1964 but released in 1967) is one of the most famous examples of a 'fallen' copyright from the 1960s. Under the 1909 Copyright Act, works published in the US between 1964 and 1977 were granted automatic renewal, but they still required a valid copyright notice upon publication to secure federal protection. Due to the bankruptcy of the original distributor and legal entanglements of the producer, the film was released without a proper copyright notice on the film prints. The film's director, Jack Hill, has confirmed in numerous interviews and DVD commentaries (such as the Image Entertainment and Arrow Video releases) that the film entered the public domain immediately upon release due to this lack of notice. This status is widely recognized in film scholarship and legal circles, and the film is a staple of public domain collections and late-night 'creature feature' broadcasts. While the underlying screenplay and certain music elements might theoretically retain protection, the motion picture itself is legally public domain in the United States. Modern high-quality releases are licensed through Jack Hill as a matter of professional courtesy and access to original elements, rather than enforceable motion picture copyright. Note: generated without live web grounding (the grounded research engine was unavailable). Verify the cited sources independently before relying on this determination.