[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

[no subject]



I once asked a lawyer if it would be possible to start an abandoned property
proceeding for copyright to clear up title.  The lawyer pretty much gave a
flat "no" to that possibility (I forget the rationale, but it must have
sounded good enough to keep me from pursuing what I thought was a pretty
nifty solution).

Remember that the photographs may have been produced by many people,  then
acquired by the company; the company may not have owned copyright to those
images to transfer them to someone else.

So from a legal point of view, you probably can't reproduce these images
without running the risk of copyright infringement.  The real trick here is
not what's legal, per se, but what's your level of risk.  If most archives
allowed only those images in their collections that were clearly in the
public domain or which they clearly owned rights to, then very few images
would be published.

The first thing you want is to develop a policy that describes procedures
patrons must follow to try to obtain copyright.  If you are sued for
infringing copyright, you can point to the policy as a good faith effort to
obtain permissions (mitigating damages).

For example:

1. Photographs made recently by a well-known, established photographer.
(E.g., everyone knows Ansel Adams' name and it's not hard to find his
estate.)  Require permission.

2. Photographs made some time ago by a known photographer (the studio's name
and address is on the print or known from surrounding documentation).   If
the studio is still is business, require permission.  If the studio is not
in business and a check of the phone book for the past several years
suggests that the photographer is out of business, then allow publication.
If there's an address, you might require the patron to send a registered
letter to that address; the returned envelope will help confirm your
attempts to seek permission.

3. Photographs made some time ago by a known photographer, but no real
ability to contact the photographer.  For example, the back of the print
might say "Photo by Starr."  But you have no idea which city Starr worked
in, a first name, etc.  Allow reproduction.

4. Photographs with no information regarding the photographer (no name, no
nothing, not even from the surrounding documents).  Well, there's not much
chance any can contact the copyright owner for permission, so the image can
be reproduced.

A question to consider when determining how recent "recently" is, try to
guess if the photographer is likely to be in business.  If a photo was made
by 35 year-old in 1950, the photographer would be 85 now; almost certainly
retired -- although if it's a commercial studio (Gittings, Olan Mills,
etc.), you're definition of "recently" may change.

Consider the use of the image.  A photo reproduced in a scholarly work of
limited distribution may be protected by fair use; the use would not
substantially hurt the photographer's commercial interests.  A photo used to
sell a product on billboards is a commercial use that the photographer would
reasonably charge a lot of money for.

So, it's really risk management rather than copyright.

In your collections documentation, note not only that you do not own the
copyright, but the grounds on which you'll allow reproduction based on the
policy.


Richard Pearce-Moses
 rpm9@mindspring.com


----- Original Message -----
From: "Thomas Berry" <tberry@HCEA.NET>
Sent: Monday, October 01, 2001 2:56 PM
Subject: Copyright question


> We recently purchased a large collection of photographs at an auction. The
> photographs had been salvaged by an antiques dealer from the
> soon-to-be-demolished buildings of a company that had been out of business
> for about 25 years. How is the copyright to the photos traced through
these
> transactions?

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu

Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>