File:City Lights promo still.jpg

English: The still is taken from the first scene with the blind flower girl, which was first shot sometime between December 27, 1928, and April 1929, then reshot in late 1929. This image is most likely from the later reshoots. This promotional copy was created on January 2, 1931, and the film itself was released in January 30, 1931.

English: Immediate source of this scan is via Heritage Auctions (HA.com) (direct link to original jpg). The scanned copy was created by Culver Pictures, Inc. in New York and is claimed to be "Type 1", i.e. it was developed from the original negative. The image was cropped from original and retouched by uploader to reduce scratches/smudges/other damage, etc.—the unretouched original version can be found in upload history below.

English: Still from City Lights, produced by the film studio United Artists.

English: No permission is required.

1. First, the photo is a mechanical scan/photocopy of the original cover and does not qualify for independent copyright protection.
2. Second, the photograph was published prior to 1978 without a valid copyright notice.

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:

1. "The symbol © or the word 'Copyright' or the abbreviation 'Copr.' or an acceptable variant such as "(c)";
2. "The year of first publication for the work"; and
3. "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 photo's frontside nor its backside contain a valid copyright notice. Text like the date and name of the publisher, by themselves, do not qualify as a valid copyright notice.