The Houston Story

The Houston Story was released in 1956 and was originally registered for copyright by Columbia Pictures Corporation on February 1, 1956, with registration number LP5842. Under the Copyright Act of 1909, works registered between 1928 and 1963 required a manual renewal filing with the US Copyright Office during the 28th year of the first term to extend protection for a second term. A search of the Stanford Copyright Renewal Database and the Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries (CCE) reveals no record of a renewal for this title. For a 1956 registration, the renewal window would have been in 1983 or 1984. While many Columbia titles from this era were renewed, this specific Sam Katzman production appears to have been overlooked. Because the renewal was not filed, the copyright expired at the end of its first 28-year term. Furthermore, the film is frequently listed in public domain film catalogs and has been circulated by distributors specializing in lapsed copyrights. The lack of a renewal record in primary databases is the definitive factor in its public domain status.