Jay Rozgony left out crucial parts in his account of the status of the 1925
copyright of GOLD RUSH.  The first twenty-eight year term of the original
copyright would have expired in 1953; if it were renewed for another 28 years
it would have been protected under the old law until 1981.  BUT: the new law
extended protection on such copyrights for 75 years after the original,
that is, until the year 2000.  My guess is that 1953 was not a good year for
Chaplin and he neglected to renew the original copyright.
 
The point to all of this is to indicate that each copyright has its own
sometime twisted history that must be tracked if one is to avoid encounters
in the legal arena.  Anyone who would use copyrighted material has an
affirmative responsibity, an obligation to determine the status of the
copyright.
 
Cal Pryluck                               <PRYLUCK@TEMPLEVM>
Dept of Radio-Television-Film             <[log in to unmask]>
Temple University
Philadelphia, PA 19122