The Devil's Plaything

The film 'The Devil's Plaything' (originally titled 'Veitstanz bei Sonnenaufgang' and also known as 'The Devil's Harvest') is a 1973 Swiss/West German production. Because it was produced after 1964 and before 1978, its status in the US is primarily governed by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA), 17 U.S.C. § 104A. Under the URAA, foreign works that were in the public domain in the US due to non-compliance with US formalities (like lack of copyright notice or failure to renew) but were still under copyright in their source country on January 1, 1996, had their US copyrights automatically restored. As a Swiss production from 1973, it was still under copyright in Switzerland in 1996 (where the term is at least 70 years after the death of the survivors of certain key creators). The film was distributed in the US by Harry Novak's Boxoffice International Pictures. While many films in Novak's catalog were treated as public domain due to poor documentation, the URAA restoration effectively protects European films of this vintage. Furthermore, it is currently licensed and distributed by reputable boutique labels like Severin Films, which typically operate under valid licensing agreements, indicating active commercial protection.