LibGuides: Library DVDs and Film Streaming: Public Domain

About Public Domain

Items in the public domain are those that are not under copyright, usually due to their age. Because there have been many changes in copyright laws, it can be difficult to determine whether something is in the public domain.

For an overview of US Copyright rules, read the Duration of Copyright: Provisions of the Law Dealing with the Length of Copyright Protection summary from the US Copyright Office.

For more detailed and official information about the copyright status of film and television works, please consult the website of the United States Copyright Office. The website has a wealth of information concerning copyright, including a comprehensive list of frequently asked questions, a complete collection of their publications, and registration forms. There is also an online database of registrations and renewals since 1978.

Lists of Films in the Public Domain

Public Domain Films from the National Film Registry

Free to Use and Reuse: Public Domain Films from the National Film Registry

The National Film Registry selects 25 films each year to showcase the range and diversity of American film heritage. These public domain selections are part of an online collection.

Learn more about this selection of films from the National Film Registry.

Browse more content that is free to use and reuse.

Other Sources for Public Domain Footage

National Archives and Records Administration, Motion Picture, Sound and Video Unit
NARA has an extensive collection of films created for and produced by the U.S. government that are in the public domain, including military films, educational and documentary films (1915-1976). NARA also has gift materials from private sources, such as Universal Newsreel releases and outtakes (1929-67). You can search some of their holdings using the ARC online catalog.
Internet Moving Image Archive
Provides near-unrestricted access to digitized collections of moving images. The largest collection comprises over 1,200 ephemeral (advertising, educational, industrial, and amateur) films made from 1927 through the present. Broadcast quality copies can be purchased through Getty Images.
PublicDomainTorrents.com
Public Domain Movie Torrents hosts a wide variety of movies now in the public domain.

Internet Archive

Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that was founded to build an Internet library. Its purposes include offering permanent access for researchers, historians, scholars, people with disabilities, and the general public to historical collections that exist in digital format.

Founded in 1996 and located in San Francisco, the Archive has been receiving data donations from Alexa Internet and others. In late 1999, the organization started to grow to include more well-rounded collections. Now the Internet Archive includes: texts, audio, moving images, and software as well as archived web pages in our collections, and provides specialized services for adaptive reading and information access for the blind and other persons with disabilities.

Online Public Domain Resources

Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States
A helpful chart for determining whether or not an item is in the public domain.
Public Domain and Royalty Free Music
The Public Domain Information Project's site for information about works in the public domain.
Stanford Copyright & Fair Use – The Public Domain
A page on Stanford University Libraries' Copyright & Fair Use site dedicated to information about the public domain.