How our verdicts work
Why we never give one-click answers
A film is not one copyright. The print, the music, the underlying story or play, character trademarks, and modern restorations each carry independent rights. The most famous cautionary tale: It's a Wonderful Life lapsed into the public domain in 1974, then was effectively pulled back in 1993 using the still-copyrighted music score and the underlying short story (see Stewart v. Abend). Any site that answers "yes, it's free" in one word is wrong often enough to hurt you.
The five status tiers
Verified public domain — backed by a citable primary basis (term expiry by publication date, a documented notice failure, a renewal search, or a court ruling). Likely public domain — strong, consistent secondary documentation, but we have not yet attached primary evidence; we say so openly. Partially protected — the layer is mixed (e.g., a PD composition where all obtainable recordings are modern and protected). Likely restored (URAA) — foreign works from the renewal era whose US rights were likely restored by the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (Golan v. Holder). Not public domain / Undetermined — what they say.
The rules we apply automatically
Term expiry: works published in the United States more than 95 years ago are public domain; our cutoff year is computed from today's date, so pages update themselves every January 1. The URAA gate: the renewal-failure rule is never applied automatically to non-US works — restoration under the URAA makes "it wasn't renewed" unreliable for foreign films. Evidence or silence: our build system refuses to publish a "verified" claim that lacks a citation. That is a technical constraint, not a promise.
What this site is not
RightsAtlas publishes research about works — it does not advise you about your specific use, and it covers United States status only. Copyright terms differ by country. For commercial decisions of consequence, consult a licensed attorney; bring this site's evidence with you and the conversation will be shorter.
Corrections
Every page shows its last-verified date. If you have primary evidence we lack — a renewal record, a registration, a court document — we want it, and we will update the dossier and credit the correction.