National Telefilm Associates (who acquired U.M. & M. library containing pre-October 1950 titles in 1956) didn’t file a renewal entry of the animated short film for the original copyright within a required 28-year period throughout 1971 (1, 2) and 1972 (1, 2).
Therefore, the animated short film entered the public domain on the first day of January 1973.
The animated short film is freely available and distributable in both physical and digital formats.
Note that it may still be copyrighted in jurisdictions that do not apply the rule of the shorter term for US works (depending on the date of the author's death), such as Canada (70 years p.m.a.), Mainland China (50 years p.m.a., not Hong Kong or Macao), Germany (70 years p.m.a.), Mexico (100 years p.m.a.), Switzerland (70 years p.m.a.), and other countries with individual treaties.
{{Information |description={{en|A screencap of the American traditional animated short film "Yankee Doodle Donkey" part of the ''{{w|Noveltoons}} series.}} |date= * 1944-10-27 (original) * 1989 (unrestored version on {{w|VHS}}) |source=Screencap taken of [https://archive.org/download/screen-original-8-authentic-original-cartoon-shows-1989/Screen%20Original%20-%208%20Authentic%20Original%20Cartoon%20Shows%20%281989%29/Screen%20Original%20PROGRAM%202%20-%20The%20Mighty%20Mouse%20Show%20featurin...