Tod makes several great points.

Sad that you’re having to deal with this at all.

You might try this approach: Announce that you have developed a plan in which 1/3 to 1/2 of all of the visitors to your exhibit have agreed to, for free, send messages to their friends with information about the exhibit and an example or two of things that they’ll see.  Of course this is the most valuable of all advertising, and it’s something that brands pay significant sums for, but because of your creativity and appeal to supporting the higher mission of the organization, you have gotten hundreds of people, including many you haven’t even met yet, to volunteer to do this FOR FREE over the coming weeks and months.

I am, by the way, completely serious.

There is a larger point: The goal of the institution, and of the individuals who created and support the institution and who donated the items.

Surely they were interested in people learning about these historic items and historical events.  Too often, when we work in institutions, we feel that the items in “our” collection are “ours.” They are not. We are the temporary guardians for the physical items. Years from now others will have this same responsibility. When we think of something as ours to protect, that may inspire us to work diligently to take care of the physical item, but when that same attitude extends to images, it holds our institutions back and reduces our ability to achieve the aims of the people who cared enough to start the institution, fund it, visit it, and donate the items in the first place.

A final note: We bemoan the declining knowledge of and interest in history, and the declining attendance at our societies, museums, and historic houses.  We appeal for more financial support and volunteer time.

Social sharing of images, which costs an institution nothing—someone posting to Facebook has no interest in paying you a fee and going through the process to license the image, so there’s no lost revenue—is a societal trend we should embrace.  And it’s something that all future generations of visitors will expect.

Good luck fighting the good fight—

Lee Wright  |  Founder  |  The History List  |  History Camp - Next up: Boston on July 7





> On Mar 30, 2018, at 12:07 PM, Tod Hopkins <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> 
> Your director is not the first to feel that people are “stealing” your images. That’s a reasonable emotional reaction, but not a rational one. The real question is are you being harmed and is any response meaningful and appropriate.
> 
> For instance, would the people that are “stealing" your images otherwise buy them from your gift shop? Are they harming the value of the institution? 
> 
> Are you cutting off your nose to spite your face? If I come in to your institution, see something I like, and then post a picture of this on Instagram, have I done you any harm? Do you want to discourage this?
> 
> Is there evidence that people are capturing your content and reusing it inappropriately? This might be a reasonable fear for institutions that have unusually valuable content. While you do not have copyright of a historic photo, you may have physical control over the only copy. 
> 
> One more legal technicality: You cannot be given “copyright." Copyright is non-transferrable property of an item. A creator can transfer ownership, rights, and license, but not the “copyright” itself. The distinction is not usually important, but it can be, especially in a legal document. 
> 
> Cheers,
>                   tod not-a-lawyer
> 
> 
> Tod Hopkins
> Hillmann & Carr Inc.
> 2233 Wisconsin Ave., NW
> Washington, DC 20007
> 202-342-0001
> 
> 
> 
>> On Mar 30, 2018, at 11:12 AM, Ashley LaVigne <[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
>> 
>> Hello again, 
>> 
>> To answer some questions I think people have--like other institutions, our museum does sell our images from our archives, but the profit generated from the sale of these photos is is not substantial. Helpful for our very small society, but not something we clearly count on. My director is very adamant that people are stealing our images when we exhibit them or use them during public discussions and wants to deter people from even photographing them--explaining to him that we cannot stop people from photographing the kiosks or using them for personal/educational usage is difficult. It is only the two of us in our society and for now I must tread carefully while sharing the information you have all shared with me here. I am doing my very best to fight it though!  
>> 
>> As someone else suggested, we do have usage forms for when our images are used in publications and those types of matters, but honestly, *I* am not the one really concerned over the copyright issue. Our deeds of gift also do contain verbiage that if people possess copyright to the material they are donating, that it is given to us.
>> 
>> I personally want to be able to exhibit our images freely without muddling them up with intrusive watermarks; especially when they don't belong there in the first place. 
>> 
>> I am grateful for the time you all have spent in replying to my inquiry here and appreciate the suggested reading. I am going to get my hands on everything I can. 
>> 
>> Thanks again.
>> 
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