The Atomic Submarine

The film was originally registered for copyright by Gorham Productions with a US registration date of November 17, 1959 (LP15286). Under the copyright laws applicable to works published between 1928 and 1963, the initial term of copyright lasted 28 years, requiring a renewal filing during the 28th year to extend protection for a second term. For a film released in 1959, the renewal window was open in 1986 or 1987. A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database, the U Penn Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE), and the US Copyright Office online records indicates that no renewal was filed for this title. The 'Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain 1950-1959' by David Pierce and D. Richard Baer also confirms the absence of a renewal record for this motion picture. Consequently, the film entered the public domain in the United States on January 1, 1988. The user's mention of a 'colorized' version refers to a derivative work created later (the original was shot in black and white). While new colorization elements may be subject to a separate copyright by the company that performed the colorization, the underlying cinematographic work and story of 'The Atomic Submarine' remain in the public domain.