The Circus Queen Murder

The Circus Queen Murder was originally registered for copyright by Columbia Pictures Corp. on April 10, 1933, under registration number LP3802. Under the Copyright Act of 1909, works registered between 1928 and 1963 required a proactive renewal filing with the US Copyright Office during the 28th year of the first term to extend protection to a second term. A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) reveals no renewal registration for this title. For a 1933 film, the renewal window would have been in 1960 or early 1961. While Columbia Pictures was generally diligent in renewing its library, several of its 'Thatcher Colt' series entries and minor 1930s features were allowed to lapse. Because the copyright was not renewed, the film entered the public domain in the United States in 1961. This status is corroborated by the film's inclusion in various public domain film catalogs and its presence on the Internet Archive without takedown notices. It is frequently cited in lists of 1930s Columbia titles that have fallen into the public domain alongside its predecessor, 'The Night Mayor' (1932).