Assuming copyright laws don’t change by then, otherwise there is no way to know.
A plausible answer is 1977 (when the film was released as Star Wars) + 95 years (for pre-1978 works) = after 2072. However, the film had been edited by George Lucas for the 1997 “Special Edition” release. Does this mean that I cannot publicly play the Special Edition VHS tape I have at home in 2073 and have to wait until 2093, or perhaps 70 years after GL’s death?
George Lucas has been infamously attempting to erase copies of the original movie. Therefore, no HD home video release for the 1977 film exists, however, a fan effort known as the “Despecialized Edition” compiled different versions of the movie from various sources, patching the Special Edition 4K Blu-ray rip to try to replicate the original 1977 experience. Does this legally questionable version enter public domain in 2072, or does this only apply to official (SD) releases?
Anyway, the Despecialized Edition project as well as George Lucas’s treatment of the originals is an interesting rabbit hole to delve into for any movie nerd.
Attorney here.
The original version of A New Hope should enter the public domain in 2072.
The Special Edition of A New Hope should enter the public domain in 2092.
The despecialized edition uses work from the special edition and would not be legally distributable until at least 2092. But as to your question on resolution, I do not believe copyright law would differentiate between a work bases solely on the published resolution. As the other comment suggests, A high res scan of the original A New Hope, if it exists, would be in the public domain in 2072.
This is assuming Disney doesn’t mess with the laws again, for like, the tenth time.
First sentence of my post, for this very reason – they own the franchise, after all. The law may also change the other way but that’s very unlikely to happen in the US within 50 years.
I wonder if they could develop a system of draconian DRM (only their own theatres with metal detectors, personalized online streams…) and mildly edit movies every few decades so that they can destroy the original and effectively renew copyright. The gaming industry’s always-online DRM makes nuking a release possible but copyright lasts for about 20 console generations (we’ve only had 8 so far!) so they don’t even have to do that.
Why I didn’t say will but should. But your emphasis is apt.
They already lost control of Steamboat Willie. The limits of copyright have been reached. Disney even tried to leverage trademark by putting Steamboat Willie as the Disney logo at the beginning of all their movies. There is a limit to their ability to bend the law in their favor before reason takes over.
Interesting… Too bad a right-holder can do minor edits to their work and effectively extend copyright (which is already very long in my opinion) if they nuke the previous version. Lucas was surprisingly successful at that, and I think game studios or other creators could do that today too with their aggressive DRM tactics.
I think this is why our rights for preservation of the media we own under the dmca is so important. Needs to be expanded on even.