List of Warner Bros. cartoons that are currently in the public domain in the United States

This is a list of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical shorts that have now fallen into the public domain in the United States due to copyright neglect. Please keep in mind that said shorts can still be copyrighted in other countries. The earliest currently copyrighted Warner Bros. cartoon, "Ride Him, Bosko!", is set to enter the public domain in 2028.
As a result of this, these cartoons are free to distribute on VHS, DVD, and websites such as YouTube. Third parties can sell the videos with no legal penalties as a result of these public domain cartoons due to Warner Bros. either forgetting to renew or having no interest in renewing the copyrights to the cartoons.
Many Warner Bros. cartoons that credit Leon Schlesinger have fallen into the public domain. All cartoons released in 1934 still remain under copyright, though they are all set to lapse into the public domain in 2030. All post-1943 shorts still remain copyright, while all cartoons released in 1930 and 1931 are currently in the public domain. All black-and-white Looney Tunes shorts released after "Porky's Snooze Reel" are also currently in the public domain.
A number of cartoons are often commonly confused as public domain works and as such, were often included on unauthorized VHS's and DVD's, uploaded on websites such as YouTube, and were often reissued and retitled by black market cartoon distributors for TV, though are currently still under copyright (in the United States). These cartoons include "Bosko's Woodland Daze", "I Like Mountain Music", "We're in the Money", "Country Boy", "The Lady in Red", "Porky's Hired Hand", "Hollywood Steps Out", "The Unruly Hare", "Crowing Pains", "The Goofy Gophers", "The Lion's Busy", "Gift Wrapped", and "Lumber Jerks", among others. At least three shorts - "Flop Goes the Weasel", "Fin 'n' Catty", and "An Itch in Time" - appear to have entered the public domain initially, but have a "Blue Ribbon" reissue that was renewed under separate copyright.https://archive.org/details/1976motionpictur3301213libr/page/117/mode/1up?view=theater Additionally, the redrawn colorized versions of the public domain cartoons are also commonly confused to have lapsed in the public domain, but they are still under copyright (in the United States), having their copyrights renewed in 1994.http://web.archive.org/web/20150919082045/http://cztoondb.tripod.com/cztoondb/looneytunes/index.htm
== List of cartoons ==
=== Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies ===
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===Private Snafu shorts ===
Because they were made for the U.S. (United States) Army, all Private Snafu cartoons are in the public domain.
# 1943 "Coming!! Snafu" (Jones/June/5:3s)
# 1943 "Gripes" (Freleng/July/5:3s)
# 1943 "Spies" (Jones/Aug/3:4s)
# 1943 "The Goldbrick" (Tashlin/Sep/4:2s)
# 1943 "The Infantry Blues" (Jones/Sep)
# 1943 "Fighting Tools" (Clampett/Oct)
# 1943 "The Home Front" (Tashlin/Nov/4:2s)
# 1943 "Rumors" (Freleng/Dec/3:4s)
# 1944 "Booby Traps" (Clampett/Jan)
# 1944 "Snafuperman" (Freleng/Mar/3:4s)
# 1944 "Private Snafu vs. Malaria Mike" (Jones/Mar)
# 1944 "A Lecture on Camouflage" (Jones/Apr)
# 1944 "Gas" (Jones/May)
# 1944 "The Chow Hound" (Tashlin/June)
# 1944 "Censored" (Tashlin/July/4:2s)
# 1944 "Outpost" (Jones/Aug)
# 1944 "Payday" (Freleng/Sep)
# 1944 "Three Brothers" (Freleng/Sept)
# 1944 "Target Snafu" (Freleng/Oct)
# 1945 "In the Aleutians – Isles of Enchantment" (Jones/Feb)
# 1945 "It's Murder She Says" (Jones/Feb)
# 1945 "Hot Spot" (Freleng/July)
# 1945 "Operation Snafu" (Freleng/Oct)
# 1945 "No Buddy Atoll" (Jones/never released)
# 1945 "Going Home" (Jones/never released)
===Mr. Hook shorts===
Because they were made for the U.S. Navy, all Mr. Hook cartoons are in the public domain.
* 1945 "The Return of Mr. Hook" (1945/McKimson/5:3s)
* 1945 "The Good Egg" (1945/Jones/5:3s)
* 1945 "Tokyo Woes" (1945/Clampett/5:3s)
=== Miscellaneous ===
Because these shorts were produced for the U.S. government, none of them have copyrights, and have always been in the public domain in the United States.
# "Any Bonds Today?" (1942)
# "Point Rationing of Foods" (1943)
# "So Much for So Little" (1949)
# "A Hitch in Time" (1955)
# "90 Day Wondering" (1956)
# "Drafty, Isn't It?" (1957)
==Further Reading==
* Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain Volume 1, 1894-1939, by Walter E. Hurst and Dr. Richard Baer (1994),ISBN 0913616265
* Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain Volume 2, 1940-1949, by Walter E. Hurst and Dr. Richard Baer (1992),ISBN 0913616273
* Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain Volume 3, 1894-1939, by Walter E. Hurst and Dr. Richard Baer (1980),ISBN 0911370730
== References ==
== External Links ==
* Looney Tunes in the Public Domain at the Wayback Machine (archived 26 March 2016)
 
Category:Lists
Category:Looney Tunes