The Man Who Died Twice

The Man Who Died Twice was released in the United States in 1958 by Republic Pictures and was registered for copyright on June 3, 1958, under registration number LP11894. Under the terms of 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 their first term to maintain 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 renewal record for this motion picture. Republic Pictures was in the process of winding down its theatrical operations during the late 1950s, and many of its late-period titles were famously allowed to lapse into the public domain through non-renewal. Because the 28-year window (1986) passed without a renewal being filed, the film's US copyright expired, and it entered the public domain. The film is widely recognized in the industry as being in the public domain and has been distributed by several PD-specialist labels, including Alpha Video and Sinister Cinema, without legal challenge from Paramount Global (the current successor-in-interest to the Republic Pictures library).