Public Domain
The Call of the North
1914 · Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company · Dir. Oscar Apfel
Graehme, Ned Stewart's father, was accused of adultery and killed being innocent. Ned decided to avenge his father, but got captured and sent to the long journey to death "la longue traverse".
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
The Call of the North, directed by Cecil B. DeMille and Oscar Apfel, was released on August 10, 1914. Under US copyright law, all works published or registered before January 1, 1928, have entered the public domain due to the expiration of the maximum possible copyright term (95 years at the time the 1998 Copyright Term Extension Act was applied).
The film was originally registered for copyright by the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Co., Inc. on July 21, 1914 (LP3100). Even if the copyright had been properly renewed in its 28th year (1941 or 1942), the protection would have lapsed no later than 75 years after publication under the 1976 Act, and the 1998 extension only applied to works still under copyright at that time. Since 1914 films entered the public domain at the end of 1989 at the latest, its status is definitively public domain.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films: The Call of the North (1914)
- Catalog of Copyright Entries: Motion Pictures 1912-1939
- 17 U.S.C. § 304 (Copyright Act of 1976 and 1998 amendments)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.