Copyright and Home Video
In 1953, the original 1925 film possibly entered the public domain in the USA, as Chaplin did not renew its copyright registration in the 28th year after publication in accordance to American law. As such, the film was once widely available on home video in that country. In the years since, Chaplin's estate has blocked the unauthorized releases of The Gold Rush in the United States:
- by arguing that under URAA/GATT, this American-made film is entitled to reciprocal-nation copyright protection by virtue of British copyright, and that it is entitled to status as a British film owing to the film having been copyrighted in the name of Charles Chaplin, who remained a British citizen during his four decades as an American-based filmmaker.
However, according to copyrightdata.com, the film was first screened in the USA, thereby disqualifying reciprocal copyright recognition under ยง104A(h)(6)(D); and the film exceeded the 30-day rule (more than 30 days between the US and British screenings), thus also disqualifying it for reciprocal-nation copyright protection.
The 1942 revision that included music and spoken dialogue, is under copyright.
MK2 Editions and Warner Home Video currently holds DVD distribution rights. A Blu-ray edition has been recently released by The Criterion Collection.
Read more about this topic: The Gold Rush
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