Is Nosferatu (1922) public domain?

Country of origin: DE · Last verified: 2026-07-12 · Researched by Bit Git — RightsAtlas research (AI-assisted, human-reviewed)

Watching: Watching via the linked archival copies is generally the lowest-risk activity.

Reusing / monetizing: The film print may be free, but at least one layer (music, story, or restoration) is unresolved — expect Content ID claims; keep evidence handy and consider removing or replacing the score.

Rights, layer by layer

A film is not one copyright — it is several. Each layer below can be free or protected independently. This is why one-click “public domain” answers are wrong so often.

Film print (photoplay)	Verified public domain	term_expiry Published 1922; even for foreign works, the URAA could not restore what the full US term has outlived — any 95-year term from 1922 expired long ago. Nosferatu is public domain in the US by expiry, regardless of its German origin. — Cornell Copyright Term chart
Music score	Partially protected	research_note Hans Erdmann's 1922 score is public domain as a composition, but virtually every RECORDING you can obtain is a modern performance with its own copyright, and many circulating prints carry newly composed scores. Treat the audio on any copy you download as protected unless proven otherwise.
Underlying story / screenplay	Verified public domain	term_expiry Unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897) — the novel has been public domain for decades (and the Stoker estate's 1925 lawsuit famously ordered all prints of Nosferatu destroyed; the film survived through illicit copies). — Wikipedia summary with sources
Character trademarks	Undetermined	research_note The 2024 Eggers remake is an active studio property; avoid marketing that implies affiliation with it.
Restorations / re-releases	Not public domain	research_note The F.W. Murnau Foundation's tinted restorations are separately protected in various jurisdictions; archival scans are the free source.

Automatic rule notes

Published 1922: US copyright term (95 years) has expired for works published through 1930 — the film print is public domain in the US by term expiry, regardless of country of origin.

Watch it free (archival copies)

Internet Archive · SD

Background

A court ordered every print of Nosferatu burned in 1925 — Bram Stoker's widow sued the unauthorized Dracula adaptation and won. The film survived through bootleg copies, outlived the novel's copyright, outlived its own, and became the most influential vampire film ever made. Today both the film and the novel it stole from are public domain in the US.

The living rights are all in the audio and the restorations: nearly every available copy carries a modern score recording or a foundation restoration. The images are free; the sound on your particular copy probably isn't.

Common questions

Is Nosferatu public domain even though it's German?

Yes. The URAA restored many foreign works that failed US formalities, but it cannot restore a work whose entire 95-year US term has expired — 1922 is safely out.

Can I use the music from a Nosferatu Blu-ray?

Almost certainly not — modern recordings and newly composed scores are protected. Use the images and add your own audio.