Public Domain
The Peachbasket Hat
1909 · Biograph Company · Dir. D.W. Griffith
Mrs. Jones leaves her baby with the maid and goes shopping for a new hat. Meanwhile, the maid invites a band of gypsies into the house for a palm reading. After the gypsies leave, no one can find the baby, and everyone assumes it's been kidnapped-- until the baby is found under a hatbox.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
The film 'The Peachbasket Hat' was released in the United States on June 24, 1909, by the Biograph Company. It was directed by D. W. Griffith and features Florence Lawrence, Mary Pickford, and Mack Sennett.
Under the United States copyright law (17 U.S.C. § 304), any work published or registered for copyright before January 1, 1928, has entered the public domain. Because this work was published in 1909, its maximum possible copyright term (which would have been 56 years under the laws of that era) has long since expired. This expiration occurred regardless of whether the copyright was originally registered or subsequently renewed.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries: Motion Pictures 1894–1912
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films (1893-1910 database)
- IMDb: The Peachbasket Hat (1909)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.