Copyright statuses of theatrical shorts.

[Daikun]

I think it would be nice to know which theatrical shorts are still copyrighted or in the public domain. It can get kind of confusing when Popeye and Looney Tunes fall into both categories, so I feel a thread can help clear things up.

Public Domain:

Warner Bros.:
Private Snafu (all shorts)
Mr. Hook (all shorts)

Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies (long list, see spoilers):

Spoiler

-90 Day Wondering
-Ain't Nature Grand!
-Ali Baba Bound
-All This and Rabbit Stew
-Any Bonds Today?
-Bars and Stripes Forever
-Battling Bosko
-The Big Man From the North
-Big-Hearted Bosko
-Boom Boom
-The Booze Hangs High
-Bosko and Bruno
-Bosko and Honey
-Bosko at the Beach
-Bosko at the Zoo
-Bosko Shipwrecked!
-Bosko the Doughboy
-Bosko the Lumberjack
-Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid
-Bosko's Dog Race
-Bosko's Fox Hunt
-Bosko's Holiday
-Bosko's Party
-Bosko's Soda Fountain
-Bosko's Store
-Box Car Blues
-Case of the Missing Hare
-Confusions of a Nutzy Spy
-Congo Jazz
-A Corny Concerto
-A Coy Decoy
-Crosby, Columbo, and Vallee
-Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur
-The Daffy Duckaroo
-Daffy – The Commando
-Daffy's Southern Exposure
-A Day at the Zoo
-Ding Dog Daddy
-The Dover Boys at Pimento University (Or The Rivals at Roquefort Hall)
-Drafty, Isn't It?
-The Ducktators
-Dumb Patrol (1931)
-The Early Worm Gets the Bird
-Eatin' on the Cuff (Or The Moth Who Came to Dinner)
-Falling Hare
-Farm Frolics
-Fifth Column Mouse
-Fin N' Catty
-Foney Fables
-Fox Pop
-Freddy the Freshman
-Fresh Hare
-Get Rich Quick Porky
-Gold Rush Daze
-Goopy Geer
-Gopher Goofy
-A Great Big Bunch of You
-Hamateur Night
-The Haunted Mouse
-Have You Got Any Castles?
-The Henpecked Duck
-A Hitch in Time
-Hittin' the Trail for Hallelujah Land
-Hobby Horse-Laffs
-Hold Anything
-Hollywood Capers
-Hollywood Steps Out
-Hop and Go
-I Love a Parade
-I Wanna Be a Sailor
-I Wish I Had Wings
-The Impatient Patient
-Inki and the Minah Bird
-It's Got Me Again!
-Joe Glow the Firefly
-Jungle Jitters
-Lady, Play Your Mandolin!
-Meet John Doughboy
-Moonlight For Two
-Notes to You
-Nutty News
-One More Time
-Pagan Moon
-Pigs in a Polka
-Point Rationing of Foods
-Porky Pig's Feat
-Porky's Ant
-Porky's Bear Facts
-Porky's Cafe
-Porky's Garden
-Porky's Midnight Matinee
-Porky's Pastry Pirates
-Porky's Pooch
-Porky's Preview
-Porky's Prize Pony
-Porky's Railroad
-Prest-O Change-O
-Puss N' Booty
-The Queen Was in the Parlor
-Red-Headed Baby
-Robin Hood Makes Good
-Robinson Crusoe Jr.
-Rookie Revue
-Saps in Chaps
-Scrap Happy Daffy
-The Shanty Where Santy Claus Lives
-The Sheepish Wolf
-Sinkin' in the Bathtub
-Smile, Darn Ya, Smile!
-So Much for So Little
-Sports Chumpions
-A Tale of Two Kitties
-Three's a Crowd
-The Timid Toreador
-To Duck.... Or Not to Duck
-Tokio Jokio
-The Tree's Knees
-Ups 'N Downs
-The Wabbit Who Came to Supper
-Wackiki Wabbit
-Wacky Blackout
-The Wacky Wabbit
-We, The Animals – Squeak!
-Westward Whoa
-Who's Who in the Zoo
-Yankee Doodle Daffy
-Yodeling Yokels
-You Don't Know What You're Doin'!
-You're Too Careless With Your Kisses

Universal:
Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat

Woody Woodpecker:
-Pantry Panic

Paramount:
Color Classics (all except 5 shorts; see copyrighted section)
Felix the Cat (all Paramount-era shorts)
Fleischer's Superman (all shorts)
Gulliver's Travels (feature-length film)
Noveltoons (all cartoons before 1950)

Baby Huey:
-Pest Pupil
-Quack-a-Doodle-Doo

Betty Boop (long list, see spoilers):

Spoiler

-Baby Be Good
-Be Human
-Betty Boop and Grampy
-Betty Boop and the Little King
-Betty Boop and Little Jimmy
-Betty Boop's Crazy Inventions
-Betty Boop's Ker-Choo
-Betty in Blunderland
-Buzzy Boop
-Buzzy Boop at the Concert
-The Candid Candidate
-Ding Dong Doggie
-Grampy's Indoor Outing
-Happy You and Merry Me
-Henry, the Funniest Living American
-Honest Love and True
-The Hot Air Salesman
-House Cleaning Blues
-The Impractical Joker
-Is My Palm Read?
-Judge for a Day
-A Language All My Own
-Little Nobody
-A Little Soap and Water
-The Lost Kitten
-Making Friends
-Making Stars
-More Pep
-Musical Mountaineers
-My Friend the Monkey
-No! No! A Thousand Times No!!
-Not Now
-On With the New
-Pudgy Picks a Fight!
-Pudgy Takes a Bow-Wow
-Rhythm on the Reservation
-The Scared Crows
-So Does an Automobile
-A Song a Day!
-Swat the Fly
-Taking the Blame
-Training Pigeons
-We Did It
-Whoops! I'm a Cowboy
-Yip Yip Yippy
-You're Not Built That Way

Popeye the Sailor (long list, see spoilers):

Spoiler

-Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp
-Ancient Fistory
-Assault and Flattery
-Big Bad Sindbad
-Bride and Gloom
-Cookin' with Gags
-The Crystal Brawl
-Customers Wanted
-A Date to Skate
-Floor Flusher
-Fright to the Finish
-Gopher Spinach
-Greek Mirthology
-A Haul in One
-I Don't Scare
-I Never Changes My Altitude
-I'm in the Army Now
-Insect to Injury
-Me Musical Nephews
-Nearlyweds
-Out to Punch
-The Paneless Window Washer
-Parlez Vous Woo
-Patriotic Popeye
-Popeye for President
-Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves
-Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor
-Popeye's 20th Anniversary
-Private Eye Popeye
-Shuteye Popeye
-Spooky Swabs
-Spree Lunch
-Taxi-Turvy
-With Little Swee'Pea

Disney:
Alice Comedies (all shorts) [predates The Walt Disney Company]
Laugh-O-Gram (all shorts) [predates The Walt Disney Company]

Mickey Mouse & Friends:
-Steamboat Willie
-The Mad Doctor
-The Gallopin' Gaucho
-Plane Crazy (silent version)

RKO:
Felix the Cat (all RKO-era shorts)
Van Beuren's Tom & Jerry (all shorts)

MGM:
-Doggone Tired
-Jerky Turkey

Terrytoons:
-The Talking Magpies
-Wolf, Wolf!
---------------------------------------------------------
Copyrighted:

Warner Bros.:

Universal:

Paramount:
Noveltoons (all cartoons after 1950)

Color Classics:
-The Tears of an Onion
-Little Dutch Mill
-Little Lamby
-Educated Fish
-The Playful Polar Bears

Betty Boop (long list, see spoilers):

Spoiler

-Be Up to Date
-Betty Boop for President
-Betty Boop Limited
-Betty Boop, M.D.
-Betty Boop's Bamboo Isle
-Betty Boop's Big Boss
-Betty Boop's Birthday Party
-Betty Boop's Bizzy Bee
-Betty Boop's Hallowe'en Party
-Betty Boop's Life Guard
-Betty Boop's Little Pal
-Betty Boop's May Party
-Betty Boop's Museum
-Betty Boop's Penthouse
-Betty Boop's Prize Show
-Betty Boop's Rise to Fame
-Betty Boop's Trial
-Betty Boop's Ups and Downs
-Bimbo's Initiation
-Boop-Oop-a-Doop
-Chess-Nuts
-Dizzy Dishes
-The Foxy Hunter
-Ha! Ha! Ha!
-I Heard
-I'll Be Glad When You're Dead, You Rascal You
-Keep in Style
-Minnie the Moocher
-Morning, Noon and Night
-Mother Goose Land
-The New Deal Show
-The Old Man of the Mountain
-Out of the Inkwell
-Parade of the Wooden Soldiers
-Poor Cinderella
-Popeye the Sailor (crossover episode)
-Pudgy the Watchman
-Red Hot Mamma
-Riding the Rails
-Sally Swing
-Service With a Smile
-She Wronged Him Right
-Snow White
-Stop That Noise
-Stopping the Show
-The Swing School
-There's Something About a Soldier
-Thrills and Chills
-When My Ship Comes In
-Zula Hula

Popeye the Sailor (long lists, see spoilers):
Fleischer Studios:

Spoiler

-Adventures of Popeye
-Axe Me Another
-Baby Wants a Bottleship
-Be Kind to Aminals
-Beware of the Barnacle Bill
-Big Chief Ugh-Amugh-Ugh
-Blow Me Down!
-Blunder Below
-Bridge Ahoy!
-Brotherly Love
-Bulldozing the Bull
-Can You Take It
-Child Psykolojiky
-Choose Your "Weppins"
-A Clean Shaven Man
-Cops is Always Right
-Dizzy Divers
-The Dance Contest
-Doing Impossikible Stunts
-A Dream Walking
-Females is Fickle
-Fightin' Pals
-Fleets of Stren'th
-Flies Ain't Human
-The Football Toucher Downer
-For Better or Worser
-Fowl Play
-Ghosks is the Bunk
-Goonland
-Hello-How Am I
-Hold the Wire
-Hospitaliky
-The House Builder Upper
-The Hyp-Nut-Tist
-I Eats My Spinach
-I Like Babies and Infinks
-I-Ski Love-Ski You-Ski
-I Wanna Be a Life Guard
-I Yam Love Sick
-I Yam What I Yam
-I'll Never Crow Again
-It's the Natural Thing to Do
-Kickin' the Conga 'Round
-King of the Mardi Gras
-Learn Polikeness
-Leave Well Enough Alone
-Let's Celebrake
-Let's Get Movin'
-Let's You and Him Fight
-Lost and Foundry
-The Man on the Flying Trapeze
-Many Tanks
-Me Feelins is Hurt
-The Mighty Navy
-Morning, Noon and Nightclub
-Mutiny Ain't Nice
-My Artistical Temperature
-My Pop, My Pop
-Never Kick a Woman
-Never Sock a Baby
-Nix on Hypnotricks
-Nurse-Mates
-Olive Oyl and Water Don't Mix
-Olive's Boithday Presink
-Olive's Sweepstakes Ticket
-Onion Pacific
-Organ Grinder's Swing
-Pest Pilot
-Pip-Eye, Pup-Eye, Poop-Eye and Peep-Eye
-Pleased to Meet Cha!
-Plumbing is a 'Pipe'
-Popeye Meets Rip Van Winkle
-Popeye Meets William Tell
-Popeye Presents Eugene the Jeep
-Popeye the Sailor with the Jeep
-Problem Pappy
-Protek the Weakerist
-Puttin' on the Act
-Quiet! Pleeze
-Seasin's Greetinks!
-Shakespearean Spinach
-Shiver Me Timbers!
-Shoein' Hosses
-Sock-a-Bye Baby
-The Spinach Overture
-The Spinach Roadster
-Stealin' Ain't Honest
-Strong to the Finich
-The Twisker Pitcher
-The Two-Alarm Fire
-Vim, Vigor and Vitaliky
-We Aim to Please
-What--No Spinach?
-Wild Elephinks
-Wimmin Hadn't Oughta Drive
-Wimmin is a Myskery
-With Poopdeck Pappy
-Wotta Nitemare
-You Gotta Be a Football Hero

Famous Studios:

Spoiler

-Abusement Park
-All's Fair at the Fair
-Alpine for You
-Arona on the Sarong Seas
-The Anvil Chorus Girl
-Baby Wants a Battle
-Baby Wants Spinach
-A Balmy Swami
-Barking Dogs Don't Fite
-Beach Peach
-Beaus Will Be Beaus
-Car-azy Drivers
-Cartoons Ain't Human
-Child Sockology
-Cops is Tops
-Double-Cross-Country Race
-The Farmer and the Belle
-Firemen's Brawl
-The Fistic Mystic
-The Fly's Last Flight
-For Better or Nurse
-Friend or Phony
-Gift of Gag
-Gym Jam
-Happy Birthdaze
-Her Honor the Mare
-Hill-Billing and Cooing
-Hot Air Aces
-House Tricks?
-How Green is My Spinach
-A Hull of a Mess
-The Hungry Goat
-I'll Be Skeeing Ya
-The Island Fling
-Jitterbug Jive
-A Job for a Gob
-A Jolly Good Furlough
-Klondike Casanova
-Let's Talk Spinach
-Lumberjack and Jill
-Lunch with a Punch
-The Marry-Go-Round
-Mess Production
-Mister and Mistletoe
-Moving Aweigh
-Nurse to Meet Ya
-Olive Oyl for President
-Peep in the Deep
-Penny Antics
-Pilgrim Popeye
-Pitchin' Woo at the Zoo
-Popalong Popeye
-Popeye and the Pirates
-Popeye Makes a Movie
-Popeye Meets Hercules
-Popeye, the Ace of Space
-Popeye's Mirthday
-Popeye's Pappy
-Popeye's Premiere
-Pop-Pie a la Mode
-Pre-Hysterical Man
-Punch and Judo
-Puppet Love
-Quick on the Vigor
-Ration fer the Duration
-Riot in Rhythm
-Robin Hood-Winked
-Rocket to Mars
-Rodeo Romeo
-The Royal Four-Flusher
-Safari So Good
-Scrap the Japs
-Seein' Red, White 'N' Blue
-Service with a Guile
-Shaving Muggs
-She-Sick Sailors
-Silly Hillbilly
-Snow Place Like Home
-Space Ahoy
-Spinach Fer Britain
-Spinach Packin' Popeye
-Spinach vs. Hamburgers
-Swimmer Take All
-Symphony in Spinach
-Tar with a Star
-Thrill of Fair
-Too Weak to Work
-Tops in the Big Top
-Toreadorable
-Tots of Fun
-Vacation with Play
-We're on Our Way to Rio
-Wigwam Whoopee
-A Wolf in Sheik's Clothing
-Wood-Peckin'
-Wotta Knight
-You're a Sap, Mr. Jap

Disney:

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit:
-All Wet

RKO:

MGM:
Hanna-Barbera's Tom & Jerry (all shorts)
The Pink Panther (all shorts)
Screwy Squirrel (all shorts)

Terrytoons:

If anyone has shorts or companies they'd like to add (this is a rough draft), let us know!

 

[Looney Tunes Fan]

Here's an accurate list of public domain Looney Tunes, excluding Crowing Pains (turns out United Artists did renew the copyright in 1974, I had the delightful experience of talking to an actual Warner Bros. legal official and he sent me the official copyright renewal form for the show): Looney Tunes DVD and Video Guide: Looney Tunes in the Public Domain

Also, anything that Thunderbean Animation releases is in the Public Domain: Amazon.com At a Glance: thunderbean

 

[CartoonFridays]

I can give you some public domain stuff.

POPEYE
- Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor
- I'm in the Army Now
- The Paneless Window Washer
- Popeye the Sailor Meets Ali Baba's Forty Thieves
- A Date to Skate
- Customers Wanted
- Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp
- Me Musical Nephews
- Shuteye Popeye
- Big Bad Sindbad
- Ancient Fistory
- All shorts from Floor Flusher to Cookin' with Gags
- All shorts from Popeye for President to Spooky Swabs

COLOR CLASSICS
- All of them (except The Tears of an Onion)

 

[Daikun]

Thanks a lot, you guys!

By the way, does anyone know the copyright status of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit? I know that Disney bought some (or is it all?) of them back. Are any of the shorts even in the public domain anymore because of this?

 

[MadMan400096]

The Terrytoons shorts The Talking Magpies and Wolf, Wolf! are in the public domain, as are the three Felix the Cat shorts Van Buren made and Tex Avery's shorts Turkey Jerky and Doggone Tired. I should also note that any works made before 1923 are public domain by law.

As for Disney, besides the Laugh-O-Grams shorts, all of which were pre-1923, all of the Alice Comedies are in the public domain, though 16 of the 57 shorts lack existing copies as of this writing. Lantz's reissues of certain Oswald shorts are public domain as well, save All Wet, but as far as I know, not even the lost Disney Oswalds (the actual versions) are. Additionally, both Baby Huey's first (Quack-a-Doodle-Doo) and last (Pest Pupil) are public domain.

 

[Daikun]

Lantz's reissues of certain Oswald shorts are public domain as well, save All Wet, but as far as I know, not even the lost Disney Oswalds (the actual versions) are.

So, should I place those under Universal or Disney?

 

[MadMan400096]

So, should I place those under Universal or Disney?

Technically, they're just reissues of Disney's Oswald shorts, so I say Disney.

Also, I just remembered Lantz's questionable Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat is public domain as well.

Adding to the copyrighted part, every single Tom and Jerry short is still under copyright.

 

[Lord Dalek]

All the Betty Boops that Olive released on their Blu-rays are still under copyright (many have fallen into the PD though).

CHESS NUTS (1932),
BETTY BOOP, M.D. (1932),
BETTY BOOP’S BAMBOO ISLE (1932),
BETTY BOOP FOR PRESIDENT (1932),
BETTY BOOP’S PENTHOUSE (1933),
BETTY BOOP’S BIRTHDAY PARTY (1933),
BETTY BOOP’S MAY PARTY (1933),
BETTY BOOP’S HALLOWE’EN PARTY (1933),
BETTY BOOP’S RISE TO FAME (1934),
BETTY BOOP’S TRIAL (1934),
BETTY BOOP’S LIFE GUARD (1934),
THE FOXY HUNTER (1937)
DIZZY DISHES (1930),
BIMBO’S INITIATION (1931),
BOO-OOP-A-DOOP (1932),
BETTY BOOP LIMITED (1932),
BETTY BOOP’S BIZZY BEE (1932),
BETTY BOOP’S UPS AND DOWNS (1932),
BETTY BOOP’S MUSEUM (1932),
BETTY BOOP’S BIG BOSS (1933),
MORNING, NOON AND NIGHT (1933),
BETTY BOOP’S LITTLE PAL (1934),
BETTY BOOP’S PRIZE SHOW (1934)
KEEP IN STYLE (1934)
MINNIE THE MOOCHER (1932),
I’LL BE GLAD WHEN YOU’RE DEAD YOU RASCAL YOU (1932)
MOTHER GOOSE LAND (1933)
THE OLD MAN OF THE MOUNTAIN (1933) I HEARD (1933)
HA! HA! HA! (1934)
STOP THAT NOISE (1935)
SERVICE WITH A SMILE (1937)
THE NEW DEAL SHOW (1937)
BE UP TO DATE (1938)
OUT OF THE INKWELL (1938)
PUDGY IN THRILLS AND CHILLS (1938)
Stopping the Show (1932)
Snow White (1933, featuring Cab Calloway)
Parade of the Wooden Soldiers (1934)
She Wronged Him Right (1934)
Red Hot Mamma (1934)
Poor Cinderella (1934, in color)
There’s Something About a Soldier (1934)
When My Ship Comes In (1934)
Zula Hula (1937)
Riding the Rails (1938)
The Swing School (1938)
Pudgy the Watchman (1938)
Sally Swing (1938).

Also all Paramount Noveltoons produced prior to 1950 are considered PD (the later ones were all purchased by Harvey Comics and are maintained by Dreamworks Classics). This includes the first three appearances of Casper the Friendly Ghost.

 

[Daikun]

All the Betty Boops that Olive released on their Blu-rays are still under copyright (many have fallen into the PD though).

So, if I'm understanding your post's format right... The all-caps titles are the copyrighted ones?

 

[Lord Dalek]

So, if I'm understanding your post's format right... The all-caps titles are the copyrighted ones?

No all of them are. For whatever reason Olive didn't capitalize the ones for their final press release. There's still about 30+ that are legitimate PD though.

 

[Dr.Pepper]

Is Goonland (Popeye), Minnie the Moocher (Betty Boop), and Porky in Wackyland PD? Also I remember reading that all but two of the Gabby (Gulliver's Travels) were PD. Anybody know which ones are under copyright?

 

[John Pannozzi]

Is Goonland (Popeye), Minnie the Moocher (Betty Boop), and Porky in Wackyland PD? Also I remember reading that all but two of the Gabby (Gulliver's Travels) were PD. Anybody know which ones are under copyright?

Goonland isn't PD, if it was, it would have been on Thunderbean's Popeye DVD (which has all PD Popeye cartoons made in black & white).

Not sure about Minnie the Moocher. I think it's PD, but I might be wrong, given how confusing the rights to Betty Boop are.

AFAIK, Porky in Wackyland is not PD. Maybe Tin Pan Alley Cats is and that's what you were thinking of?

Not sure about Gabby.

A shame those Film Superlist books that listed all PD movies are rather rare and expensive nowadays. I really wish they could somehow be brought back into print...

 

[Tumblenerd]

The copyrights are a mystery. I have a side channel where I upload classic cartoons, among them Popeye and Betty Boop, and some are tagged as copyrighted and some aren't. Yet Paramount (the claimant) doesn't file any claims, they just seem OK with it all.

 

[Daikun]

Yet Paramount (the claimant) doesn't file any claims, they just seem OK with it all.

Paramount doesn't really own the shorts anymore (at least the ones produced before 1961). They were sold to other companies after they closed their animation division.

 

[Tumblenerd]

I know, that's the story as I understand it too. And yet some videos have "Monetized by copyright owner" next to them, which--it says--is Paramount Pictures.

"Copyrighted content was found in your video. The claimant is allowing their content to be used in your YouTube video. However, ads might appear on it."

 

[sasq]

Alice Comedies (all shorts) [predates The Walt Disney Company]

Actually, David Gerstein revealed years ago that most of the 1927 Alices could be still under copyright, who currently owns the copyright to them is a mystery, but i do have a theory:

The Alice Comedies were produced by Disney for Winkler Pictures, a company headed by Charles Mintz.

After both Disney and Mintz left production of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit shorts, Mintz's company made a distribution deal with Columbia, who would then buy part (and later all) of Mintz's company and rename it Screen Gems.

Is it possible that part of the 1927 Alices are currently under copyright of Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.?

 

[TeridaxXD001]

The sing-along cartoon "Minnie's Yoo Hoo" produced for the 1930's incarnation of the Mickey Mouse Club is public domain. There are also some industrial/commercial shorts produced by Disney that are public domain.

 

[Low Spark of Lyman]

What about independent animated shorts, e.g. Moonbird and The Hole, both by John Hubley?

 

[AdrenalineRush1996]

What about independent animated shorts, e.g. Moonbird and The Hole, both by John Hubley?

I have no idea.

 

[Low Spark of Lyman]

I have no idea.

Sorry, but I don't know why you needed to say that.