Image: Cormac McCarthy (Outer Dark author portrait)

Description: Portrait of Cormac McCarthy from the dust jacket of his second novel, Outer Dark.
Title: Cormac McCarthy (Outer Dark author portrait)
Credit: PBA Galleries Auctioneers and Appraisers (direct link to jpg). Cropped to include only the portrait and lightly retouched by uploader.
Author: Unknown—the photographer is not credited. Jacket design by Muriel Nasser; published by Random House.
Permission: No permission is required. First, the photo is a mechanical scan/photocopy of the original cover and does not qualify for independent copyright protection. Second, the portrait was first published prior to 1978 without a valid copyright notice. Outer Dark was first published in 1968; the hardcover book itself carried a copyright notice, so its contents remain copyrighted. However, the first-edition dust jacket did not carry a separate copyright notice. According to The Compendium of U.S. Copyright Office Practices: Chapter 2200, § 2207.1(C) at p. 15: "A notice of copyright on the dust jacket of a book is not an acceptable notice for the book, because the dust jacket is not permanently attached to the book. Likewise, a notice appearing in a book is not an acceptable notice for the dust jacket or any material appearing on that dust jacket, even if the book refers to the jacket or material appearing on the jacket." Keep in mind that the pre-1989 requirements for copyright notice were highly formalistic and, other than a few enumerated exceptions, required these three elements: "The symbol © or the word 'Copyright' or the abbreviation 'Copr.' or an acceptable variant such as "(c)"; "The year of first publication for the work"; and "The name of the copyright owner, or an abbreviation by which the name can be recognized, or a generally known alternative designation of the owner." If just one of these elements is omitted, the work is deemed to be published without notice and is not eligible for copyright protection. Neither the year "1973" nor a copyright symbol (or any acceptable variant) appear anywhere on the dust jacket. Credits like "Jacket design by Muriel Nasser" do not meet these requirements, nor do the identifications of the publisher and author.
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No