The Fireman

The Fireman is a short silent film starring Charlie Chaplin, produced by the Mutual Film Corporation and released on June 12, 1916. Under current US copyright law, specifically the 1998 Copyright Term Extension Act, all works published or registered in the United States before January 1, 1928, have entered the public domain. Since this film was published in 1916, it was subject to a maximum copyright term of 75 years under the 1976 Act (assuming renewal), which would have expired in 1991. Even under the extended 95-year term granted to works of that era by later legislation, the copyright would have expired no later than the end of 2011. Consequently, the film is now free of copyright restrictions in the United States and may be freely distributed, performed, or adapted.