JuliAnn,

if you haven't already, I highly recommend the e-book by Anne Young:  
"Rights & Reproductions: The Handbook"
https://aam-us.org/ProductCatalog/Product?ID=5186

It deals with all the nuts and bolts of U.S. copyright in museums and  
similar institutions and the price is really fair.

Anne also teaches a course about it in June for MuseumStudy.com:
http://www.museumstudy.com/courses/course-list/rights-reproductions-guidelines-and-best-practices/
(Disclaimer: I also teach for this institution and know Anne for quite  
a while - she's really a walking, living book for all things copyright)

Best wishes,
Angela


Angela Kipp
Collection Manager
TECHNOSEUM, Mannheim, Germany
www.technoseum.de

Join the Registrar Trek at http://world.museumsprojekte.de/
Follow us on Twitter @RegistrarTrek

This is a personal opinion, my institution can't be held responsible  
for anything I write




Quoting American Sokol <[log in to unmask]>:

> Ignorance has been bliss for us so far. If I take pictures of the  
> pictures they can be used in publications, brochures, etc., not for  
> profit? I don’t really see the difference legally between a picture  
> and a scan as the iPad Pro takes some pretty incredible photos of  
> photos. I have been photographing large water damaged photos and  
> they are almost as good as a scan.
>
> Thank you so much for this discussion and your input.
>
> JuliAnn
>
>> On Apr 2, 2018, at 2:24 PM, topladave <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>> No. All copyrighted photos whether taken by an amatuer, artist, or  
>> as a work for hire cannot be used in publications if the copyrights  
>> are still active.
>>
>> The photos that you physically own can be used in exhibits and your  
>> own photos of them (not exact copies) can be used in brochures of  
>> your exhibitions showing them on exhibit.
>>
>> As previously stated, if these photos were taken and published  
>> before 1923 then they are likely in the public domain and you can  
>> use them as you wish. If they were published after 1923 or fall  
>> into certain categories previously mentioned, then they may still  
>> be under copyright.
>>
>> Cheers!
>> Dave
>>
>> David Harvey
>> Senior Conservator & Museum Consultant
>> Los Angeles CA. USA
>> www.cityofangelesconservation.weebly.com  
>> <http://www.cityofangelesconservation.weebly.com/>
>>
>> On Mon, Apr 2, 2018, 12:15 PM American Sokol  
>> <[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
>> Thanks Gregory and Dave. This gets very complicated, especially  
>> since our collection is raw, we are just starting to catalog, and  
>> have tons of photos starting from the late 1800’s. I do think many  
>> of the photos were taken by a hired professional photographer.  
>> Since they were for hire I am assuming we can use them in our  
>> publications or as we wish? We have been using them in our  
>> publications.
>>
>> What a great discussion. Thanks again.
>>
>> JuliAnn
>>
>>> On Apr 2, 2018, at 2:07 PM, Gregory Jackson  
>>> <[log in to unmask]  
>>> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>> wrote:
>>> It
>>> JuliAnn,
>>>
>>> Legally, it doesn’t matter if you can track down the family or  
>>> not.  According to the law, the copyright belongs to the creator  
>>> or the heirs for the duration of its copyright lifetime.  That  
>>> lifetime depends on the classification of the work (unpublished,  
>>> unpublished anonymous/pseudonymous/for hire, published, etc.)  As  
>>> a rule of thumb, anything published before 1923 is in the public  
>>> domain as are most works when the creator died before 1947.  So  
>>> unless the copyright was transferred to your museum, you cannot  
>>> claim copyright.  An earlier poster had it right – there is no  
>>> legal means to keep others from using a photograph that you don’t  
>>> hold the copyright to, that has been placed in the public domain  
>>> or even one that is considered an “orphan work.”
>>>
>>> Greg
>>>
>>> Gregory A. Jackson, CA
>>> Bryn Athyn Historic District Archives
>>> Glencairn Museum
>>> 267.502.2997
>>>
>>>
>>> From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]  
>>> <mailto:[log in to unmask]>] On Behalf Of American Sokol
>>> Sent: Monday, April 2, 2018 2:17 PM
>>> To: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>>> Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Copyright Question
>>>
>>> What about cases where the photos are 50+ years old and the  
>>> photographer and the studio are long gone? Tracking down family  
>>> would be extremely difficult.
>>>
>>> Thanks.
>>>
>>> JuliAnn
>>>
>>>
>>> On Mar 30, 2018, at 7:36 AM, Tod Hopkins  
>>> <[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>>  
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> A quick follow-up to my earlier post. My comments should not be  
>>> extended to questions about the use of the copyrighted works of  
>>> others. I did not mean to suggest that one should not respect  
>>> copyright simply because there is no money involved, nor that  
>>> copyright has no meaning beyond monetary interests.
>>>
>>> Copyright gives the creator control over use of their works. You  
>>> should always seek permission for use.
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>>                 tod
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Mar 29, 2018, at 8:22 AM, Tod Hopkins  
>>> <[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>>  
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> If you are asking for a purely legal answer, you are on the wrong  
>>> track, though it may be the easiest answer. This is really a  
>>> moral, ethical, and aesthetic question and should be treated as one.
>>>
>>> Legally, placing the words on or near the photo has no  
>>> significance.  Further, unless the museum created the work in  
>>> question, it is legally wrong for the museum assert copyright.  
>>> That’s the end of the issue as far as the law is concerned.
>>>
>>> However, there is a creator and you do have an ethical obligation  
>>> to “credit” the creator if it was not the museum. You do not need  
>>> to credit yourself. It’s your exhibit. You don’t need to take  
>>> credit for every photo in it.
>>>
>>> But don’t put the credit on the photo. That’s defacement. You  
>>> wouldn’t do this to a painting. Why would you do it to a photo?  
>>> Just because you can?
>>>
>>> Copyright is entirely about money, the protection of one’s  
>>> monetary interest in an original work. If there is no, or little,  
>>> monetary interest, wasting time on issues of copyright is usually  
>>> a waste of energy. Yes, there are rare occasions where copyright  
>>> is asserted as a matter of artistic control, but it’s important to  
>>> remember that copyright law is explicitly about monetary interests.
>>>
>>> Is there a real monetary interest? Would you or someone else be  
>>> willing to sue over it? If so, you need to worry about copyright.  
>>> If not, it’s really just an ethical issue of proper credit.
>>>
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>>                   tod
>>>
>>>
>>> Tod Hopkins
>>> Hillmann & Carr Inc.
>>> 2233 Wisconsin Ave., NW
>>> Washington, DC 20007
>>> 202-342-0001
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>>                   tod
>>>
>>>
>>> Tod Hopkins
>>> Hillmann & Carr Inc.
>>> 2233 Wisconsin Ave., NW
>>> Washington, DC 20007
>>> 202-342-0001
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Mar 23, 2018, at 3:48 PM, Ashley LaVigne  
>>> <[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]>>  
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hello everyone. I have a question re: copyright. Our museum  
>>> displays historic photographs in townships across our county and  
>>> we were recently asked to help create tour kiosks along a bike  
>>> trail. These will contain roughly 100 images. My director is  
>>> adamant we now place a copyright tag on every single image,  
>>> including the ones we will print and mount in our gallery  
>>> displays. I think these look tacky and take away from the images,  
>>> but he is convinced people will steal these images and reproduce  
>>> our images for their own use/financial gain--thus saying we might  
>>> as well not even house photos in our collection or sell them  
>>> because everyone will have them. I personally think this is a bit  
>>> dramatic. I was under the understanding that these photos are  
>>> copyrighted regardless, and that ownership would have to be proven  
>>> should we find someone reproducing our images anyway?
>>>
>>> Can anyone offer advice so when the subject arises again I can  
>>> understand it better? I have been reading copyright laws, but I  
>>> guess I need something laid out in a way I can easily understand.
>>>
>>> Please feel free to contact me off list.
>>>
>>> Thank you!
>>>
>>> Best,
>>>
>>> Ashley LaVigne
>>>
>>> =========================================================
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>>> American Sokol Archives
>>>
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>>>
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>> Julie Barcal
>> American Sokol Archives
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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> Julie Barcal
> American Sokol Archives
>
>
>
>
>
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