Is Oasis of the Zombies Public Domain?

Yes, I designed that cover in hopes to have it on my YouTube… Well, I've been going back and forth with this topic for at least 2 years. I had this film uploaded on an old YouTube channel and never received a copyright, and I downloaded the film from internet archive which said it was public domain. Now, I know that doesn't make it so, but I will note that the film is listed on many websites as public domain, including IMDB and public domain torrents, and retro film vault amongst others. That being said, on my new channel I uploaded the film and received a notice that it was copyrighted.

So I figured maybe it was the specific copy, considering there is at least 2 versions of the film with different lead actors, as well as probably a dozen or so names it went by, including "Bloodsucking Nazi Zombies". So I uploaded several copies, but each time a copyright claim followed. So, I became quite disappointed, as I truly love this film and the director [Jess Franco] so I wanted to have the film on my channel and perhaps make a DVD someday of it. So I began to research this topic further in hopes of better understanding the situation, but instead it's only become even more confusing. So let me explain, first I decided to go to the National Library of Congress and see of the film was properly registered, and the reason for this was because I read a comment that said it was not registered.

Now trust me I'd love to agree, but unfortunately the truth is after 1978 films do not have to register in order to have automatic copyright and trademark status.

Oasis of the Zombies was released in 1981, so I don't believe that plays a factor, but I could be wrong and hopefully I am. Remember, I want the film to be in the public domain. So next I decided to still head over to the Library Of Congress and check out the registration, which was fairly simple to achieve. I'll share the results below and then discuss it a bit.

So this is very interesting in many ways, so let me dissect each one. First, I want to mention that many people claimed the “VHS” copyright was public domain, but now I think they may have been confusing that information with the DVD. The copyright name matches correctly and the description specifically lists 2 videocassette (VHS). But the published/created date is incomplete. But just how did everyone come to the conclusion that it's public domain, if it's not?

Then let's look at all of the distributors who sell the film.

So you can see how I came to the conclusion that it was public domain (either the VHSor DVD, or Bloodsucking Nazi Zombies or Oasis of the Zombies, or perhaps one of the alternative versions of either) but now I'm not so sure. It's truly impossible to know, because there is no real list of what is or is not public domain. That being said, I did appeal the copyright notice so within 30 days I may have more of an answer. But for now, we wait. Thanks for reading and if you have any input on this very confusing topic, please feel free to leave a comment.

Update: So I wanted to include the company claiming copyright is egeda, MinervaPicturesGroup. I searched around a bit, and I have found some information that they have at least possibly made a mistake previously claiming the rights to a film in public domain.