At 07:21 PM 3/14/96 -0600, you wrote:
>
> on the following:
>
>I spoke to the artist about this recently, and she is not overly concerned.
> Apparently, a lot of artists she knows do this all the time, and she is
>willing to pay a fine if the original photographer makes a fuss.
>
>Does this mean we need a preamble to our copyright agreements where the
>artist signs a statement saying he/she did not violate anyone else's
>copyright in the process of creating their art?  Where will this all end?

My $0.02

I'm concerned that the artist is "not overly concerned," and that artists
are doing this all the time. I would seriously question the ethics of these
people. Unless something is "Public Domain," this is tantamount to theft (no
grey area here) because they're stealing images and hawking them under their
own names. We're having a bit of a crisis over some art from a program that,
it turns out, is NOT public domain (even though a federal agency is
involved). It turns out a puzzle company, of all things, took some of the
art from this program and reproduced it as a puzzle along with an
"Historical Story Included Inside." The sheet with the historical background
was xeroxed from a publication from our historian's office (which IS in the
public domain). My husband found the puzzle at a K-Mart, I thought it was a
hoot, e-mailed my old boss, and got a phone call back letting me know this
could be a problem, could I send them a copy?

But, I digress .... I know everyone has different Deeds of Gift and other
governing authorities for bringing artifacts and images into their
collections, and I can only speak for the Fed. way of doing it. According to
our regs for curating collections, we have to have something from a donor
stating clearly that they hold free and clear title to anything being
donated. If you clip it out of a magazine and reproduce it - you don't have
"clear title." We also have to make sure they relinquish all claims present
and future (heirs and all) for all time over the artifact or image. I just
remember my museum studies professor screeching the chalk on the blackboard
to make sure he had our attention before he drilled it into us that 1. never
say you'll exhibit something forever, no matter HOW BADLY you want it in
your collection, 2. make sure what anyone donates to you actually belongs to
them and is theirs to donate in the first place, and 3. make dang sure you
cover your tail as far as something being donated "in perpetuity" with the
donor relinquishing rights for all time (including heirs' rights).

Amy Marshall