Public domain film

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A public domain film is one that is not protected by copyright. A film can lack copyright protection for various reasons, but often it occurs following the end of a copyright term. Because copyright term varies by country, certain films might be public domain in one country but not another. For example, the film Metropolis entered the United States public domain in 2023, but under current EU copyright law, the film will remain under copyright in Germany and the rest of the European Union until the end of 2046, 70 years after Fritz Lang's death.^[1]

Due to the relatively shorter history of film compared to other artistic mediums the total number of films in the public domain is smaller. However, many films have become public domain because the copyright has expired, or they have been intentionally released by their creators.