> I have a question about copyright and reproduction of photographs of
> buildings.
>
> What are the copyright restrictions, if any?  Who holds the
> copyright to a photograph of a museum?  Does it matter if the museum
> commissioned the photograph?

The photographers holds the copyright of a photograph. So, if the
photograph of a painting was made by the museum than the museum has
the copyright. Copyright on images of recent paintings is by the
artist. National laws differ as far as limits are set to the number
of years an artist must be dead until there is no longer copyright on
images of the artworks. I do not know if a building must be
considered an (recent) artwork.
In general: you may publish your own photos (or the photographs by
any photographer who has given his/her written consent) of artworks
that are not copyrighted anymore.


> Oh, and what about postcards and posters?  What should I pay
> attention to in regards to reproducing these, especially if they are
> widely distributed images.
>

A poster or postcard is copyrighted. You may not reproduce those
without permission.


I hope this helps,
Regards,
Ton Cremers



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