Public Domain
The Gift Supreme
1920 · Selznick Pictures Corporation · Dir. Oliver L. Sellers
Bradford Vinton falls in love with a girl singer from the slums, but his father makes plans to break the relationship; when the plans fail, he disinherits his son.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
The film 'The Gift Supreme', directed by Ollie Sellers and starring Bernard Durning and Seena Owen, was released in the United States in May 1920. According to the United States copyright law, all works published or registered in the US before January 1, 1928, have entered the public domain regardless of their renewal status or original registration.
Under the 1998 Copyright Term Extension Act, the maximum term for works published in 1920 was 75 years, which was extended to 95 years. Consequently, this film saw its copyright expire no later than January 1, 1996. There are no provisions in current US law that would allow a 1920 film to remain under copyright protection in the 21st century. The film is widely cited in catalogs of silent cinema as a lost or surviving public domain work.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films: The Gift Supreme (1920)
- Library of Congress: Catalog of Copyright Entries, Motion Pictures 1912-1939
- Silent Era (silentera.com) Database
- 17 U.S.C. § 304 (Duration of Copyright)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.