The First Circus

The First Circus is a 1921 animated short film created by Tony Sarg and Herbert M. Dawley. Under current US copyright law, all films published before January 1, 1929, have entered the public domain. This film was released as part of the 'Tony Sarg’s Almanac' series in 1921, which places it well before the cutoff. Because the film was published more than 95 years ago, its copyright term has expired regardless of whether it was ever renewed or if there were defects in the original registration. There are no modern extensions that can remove a pre-1929 work from the public domain in the United States.