Image: Where the Buffalo Roam (1980 film poster, Ralph Steadman illustration)

Description: "Special" theatrical release poster for the 1980 film Where the Buffalo Roam, a dramatization of the life of American journalist Hunter S. Thompson.
Title: Where the Buffalo Roam (1980 film poster, Ralph Steadman illustration)
Credit: Scan via Heritage Auctions. Cropped from the original image.
Author: Illustration by Ralph Steadman. Poster presumably distributed by the film's distributor, Universal Pictures, although the company's name does not appear on the poster itself.
Permission: No permission is required because the poster entered the public domain. The poster omitted a copyright notice and was published in the United States in 1980 (i.e., between 1978 and 1989), and neither the poster design overall, nor the underlying illustration by Mr. Steadman, were subsequently registered with the U.S. Copyright Office within five years of publication; see the searchable Copyright Catalog (1978 to present). As such, the opportunity for copyright protection expired on January 1, 1986—the beginning of the sixth year after publication—and the poster entered the public domain. Additional notes: The poster art is a distinct work from the film it represents and had to carry its own notice and/or be registered as its own separate work to establish copyright protection. The film Where the Buffalo Roam remains copyrighted. 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." The poster omits the year and any variant on the word "copyright". The artist's signature does not meet these requirements. Note that the film Where the Buffalo Roam itself remains under copyright, as do alternate posters promoting the film. For example, the main one-sheet poster for the film (featuring a photo of Bill Murray) did did carry a valid copyright notice: "© 1980 Universal City Studios, Inc." As such, that poster remains under copyright. However, this poster is a distinct work that required its own separate copyright notice.
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
Attribution Required?: No