[2][3] In July 2006, following a lawsuit from Paramount Pictures, the Tokyo District Court ruled that films released before 1954 were in the Japanese public domain.
All copyrightable works made by United States government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain from their creation.
The see-saw course of court decisions on the matter has caused confusion, with many significant works (such as The Third Man) changing status several times in a short period.
Subsequently, Babcock reversed himself on advice by a higher court that such an act by an arm of government (Congress) changed the traditional interpretation of copyright and should be subject to First Amendment scrutiny.
Removing works from the public domain violated Plaintiffs’ vested First Amendment interests" - therefore no longer applies.
In 2012, the United States Supreme Court decision in Golan upheld the ability of Congress to restore copyright to public domain works by international treaty.