Well there are several issues here that will take some research and thought.

First, although the object may be old enough to not be covered by
copyright you do have some control over several aspects of its use.
Also, this sounds like an historic object - a decorative arts or
social history or folk art type and not an art object per se.

Also, as an aside, if you own a work in your instituion that is
covered under current copyright law, you may not be legally entitled
to reproduce it without the permission of the artist/creator or their
heirs, unless it is an expressly comissioned work for hire where all
ownership and rights and expressly rights to copy were transfered to
you.

If this compnay has used one of your photographs to sell this, or a
photogaph of your object itself, then the use of that image may be
subject to your permission. Also, although anyone can copy anything
they see, depending on the language used in the advertisement they may
be liable if they are saying or implying that this is an offical or
sanctioned reproduction.  And there are also legal differences between
a "copy" and a "reprodcution" - the latter implies that they have had
access to the object and some sort of offical dialogue about it.

Many years ago Colonial Williamsburg created a licensed products
program for offical reproductions and many of the larger museums and
institutions have similar offical product lines. Part of this is a way
of creating a brand, but an equally important part is to also create a
legal category for the reprodcution of their museum objects and art.

I would argue that is better serves you to NOT have your name
associated with this business as any bad things that may happen
between the them and customers may transfer to you. Plus it sets a bad
precedent to let someone get away with using your name without a
rigorous review and approval of the product that you would want to
have in place to carry your name on it.

Cheers!
Dave

David Harvey
Conservator
Los Angeles, California

On 5/14/07, Robert Panzer <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>
>
>
> Public domain means just that.  The art is the public's and there is no
> legal basis for you to charge a usage fee.  At least they have credited your
> institution, which they have no legal responsibility to do.
>
>
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
>
>
> Robert Panzer
>
> Executive Director
>
> VAGA (Visual Artists and Galleries Association, Inc.)
>
> 350 Fifth Avenue
>
> Suite 2820
>
> New York, NY  10118
>
> Tel: 212 736 6666
>
> Fax: 212 736 6767
>
> email: [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
>  ________________________________
>
>
> From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
> Of Cynthia Mackey
>  Sent: Monday, May 14, 2007 11:03 AM
>  To: [log in to unmask]
>  Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Reproduction rights
>
>
>
>
>
> I came across a website that is selling a reproduction of an item in our
> collection. The company even states on their website that the reproduction
> is based on an item from our collection. I have looked through numerous
> files to see if an agreement was made between our museum and the company,
> but have not found anything. The item was made in the 18th century so it is
> in the public domain, but I'm wondering if as a museum we have any rights to
> contact the company and start charging usage fees or something of the sort.
> I am not sure how long they have been selling this item either so that
> complicates the situation.
>
>
>
>
>
> It is our current policy to charge usage fees for any of our images in our
> collection so we are familiar with that process but not with reproductions
> of 3-dimensional items from our collection which are then sold by another
> company.
>
>
>
>
>
> I just have some concerns since they are using our name to promote the
> authenticity of their reproduction without any known consent from us. Any
> suggestions as to what to do next?
>
>
>
>
>
> Cindy Mackey
>
>
>
>
>
>  ________________________________
>
>
> Sick sense of humor? Visit Yahoo! TV's Comedy with an Edge to see what's on,
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