Gold Rush Public Domain

[Neil W.]

I've read that the original, silent 1925 Gold Rush is in the public domain
in the US. How about the 1942 re-release with narration? Anyone know for
sure? Thanks.

[Richard Carnahan]

Post by Neil W.
I've read that the original, silent 1925 Gold Rush is in the public domain
in the US.  How about the 1942 re-release with narration?  Anyone know for
sure?  Thanks.

Neither version is public domain.

[Neil W.]

Post by Richard Carnahan

Post by Neil W.
I've read that the original, silent 1925 Gold Rush is in the public domain
in the US. How about the 1942 re-release with narration? Anyone know for
sure? Thanks.

Neither version is public domain.

As much as I hate to cite Wikipedia, both Wiki and IMDB claim that the 1925
version is in the public domain, at least in the USA:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0015864/faq
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gold_Rush

Are they wrong?

[Derek Gee]

Maybe, check out this post:

http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/byform/mailing-lists/amia-l/2008/01/msg00202.html

Derek

Post by Neil W.

Post by Richard Carnahan

Post by Neil W.
I've read that the original, silent 1925 Gold Rush is in the public domain
in the US. How about the 1942 re-release with narration? Anyone know for
sure? Thanks.

Neither version is public domain.

As much as I hate to cite Wikipedia, both Wiki and IMDB claim that the 1925
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0015864/faq
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gold_Rush
Are they wrong?

[Darren]

Raymond Rohauer owns copyright on one version...
http://cocatalog.loc.gov/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?v1=6&ti=1,6&Search%5FArg=gold%20rush&Search%5FCode=TALL&CNT=25&REC=0&RD=0&RC=0&PID=zNA1naa_m6ydCDa38uNcWYdLS5m&SEQ=20080821205219&SID=1

The copyright for the 1940s re-release was renewed in the Roy Export Company
Establishment in thre mid 1990s.

The copyright regrestrations can be found here
http://www.copyright.gov/records/


Darren

[Matt Barry]

Post by Neil W.
I've read that the original, silent 1925 Gold Rush is in the public domain
in the US. How about the 1942 re-release with narration? Anyone know for
sure? Thanks.

The 1942 version is most certainly under copyright. The status of the 1925
version is slightly less clear. Individual "editions" (such as the
Brownlow/Photoplay restoration) are certainly under copyright, but I know
that in the VHS days many PD video companies (including Alpha video) offered
copies of the 1925 version. I believe Chaplin tried to "buy back" the rights
to the silent version based on underlying rights to the original story,
although I'm not clear on the outcome of this.

[Jim Reid]

The Gold Rush was copyrighted by Charles Chaplin, not his company, and
he was not a US citizen. Because of that, the copyright was able to be
reinstated years ago when the GATT treaty reinstated lapsed copyrights
on foriegn productions.