There is no evidence that Horizons Pictures claims, or ever claimed, copyright on this image, as was usually the case for publicity stills. It does not contain the copyright symbol ©, the word "Copyright", or the abbreviation "Copr."

A number of film production experts have commented on the staus of these promotional images, cofirming that they are in the public domain. Eve Light Honthaner, in The Complete Film Production Handbook (Focal Press, 2001 p. 211.), says:

"Publicity photos have traditionally not been copyrighted. Since they are disseminated to the public, they are generally considered public domain, and therefore clearance by the studio that produced them is not necessary."

Nancy Wolff, includes a similar explanation:

"There is a vast body of photographs, including but not limited to publicity stills, that have no notice as to who may have created them." (The Professional Photographer's Legal Handbook By Nancy E. Wolff, Allworth Communications, 2007, p. 55.)

Film industry author Gerald Mast, in Film Study and the Copyright Law (1989) p. 87, writes:

"According to the old copyright act, such production stills were not automatically copyrighted as part of the film and required separate copyrights as photographic stills. The new copyright act similarly excludes the production still from automatic copyright but gives the film's copyright owner a five-year period in which to copyright the stills. Most studios have never bothered to copyright these stills because they were happy to see them pass into the public domain, to be used by as many people in as many publications as possible."