Public Domain
When a Man Loves
1911 · Biograph Company · Dir. D.W. Griffith
Mr. Bach, a wealthy man, visits the scenes of his boyhood days in his auto and meets farmer Brown, his boyhood friend. Brown is the father of a very pretty daughter named Tessie. Bach becomes deeply smitten with the artless little country lass, and secretly hopes to win her. Tessie, however, has a host of admirers in the little village, the favored one being John Watson.
Confidence
100
— Legal Reasoning —
Why this status applies
The film 'When a Man Loves' directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Mary Pickford was released on January 5, 1911, by the Biograph Company.
Under the United States copyright law (17 U.S.C. § 304), any work published before January 1, 1928, has reached the end of its statutory copyright term and has definitively entered the public domain. This film satisfies that criteria as it is a 1911 production.
No renewal search is necessary for works from this era, as the maximum possible term of protection (under the 1909 Act and subsequent extensions) for works registered or published prior to 1928 has expired. This film is freely available in various archives and has been included in numerous public domain Pickford/Griffith compilations.
— Cited Sources —
Supporting facts
- Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries: Motion Pictures 1894-1912
- AFI Catalog of Feature Films (credited short films)
- The Mary Pickford Foundation Filmography
- 17 U.S.C. § 304 (Copyright Term Extension Act)
Research summary based on cited sources, not legal advice. Always consult a qualified copyright attorney before commercial use.