The Adventures of Tartu

"The Adventures of Tartu" (also known by its UK title "Tartu") was a British production filmed at Gainsborough Studios and distributed in the United States by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Under the 1909 Copyright Act, foreign works published in the US required a valid copyright notice and a timely renewal during the 28th year of the initial term to maintain protection. While MGM registered the film for US copyright on September 20, 1943 (Registration L12328), no record of a renewal exists in the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database or the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE). Because the film was first published in the US (distributed by MGM), it is generally ineligible for URAA/GATT restoration, which only applies to foreign works that were not in the US public domain due to lack of compliance with formalities (like renewal). Even if treated purely as a foreign work, it entered the public domain in the US due to the failure to renew the 1943 registration. The film is widely cited in legal and cinema references, including the Film Superlist and David Pierce’s research, as having fallen into the public domain in 1971. It is currently found on numerous public domain streaming platforms and distributed by PD-specialist labels without legal challenge.