On Thu, 18 Jan 2001 23:30:32 EST "David E. Haberstich"
<[log in to unmask]> writes:

> You may be right that there is really no problem most of the time
> with the use or reproduction of copy negatives of photographs (or
photographs
> of other artifacts) owned by private individuals.  I may be seeing
problems
> where none in fact exist and I may just be paranoid about lawyers,
litigation,
> and potentially sticky situations.

Well, of course, since we live in a world where anyone can sue anyone for
anything, and the cost of litigation to the innocent defendant is often
more than the value of the thing being litigated, you have every right to
be concerned. Much as I hate to retreat into my ideal world, once again I
must. It is really hard for me to imagine that a museum would loose a
case where it had a signed document from the owner of a photograph giving
the institution the right to do whatever it deemed appropriate with the
content of the image. If you know of such a case, I would be happy (OK,
not happy, but interested) to have the citation.

<snip>

> However, it seems to me that granting a  license for
> an institution to use photographs of your property is fundamentally
> different from donating the object itself.  So again, I'm just
wondering
> whether long-term lenders have a right to commit their heirs to an
> agreement.

Actually, I don't see this situation as granting a license. I suppose
it's just a matter of my total non-familiarity with the law, but I see
granting an institution the right to copy an original and allowing it to
use the resulting negative as it sees fit analogous to donating a
physical object.

<skip>

>  In one case, we did in fact deaccession a  photograph
> and return it to the family because it was of comparatively little
> value in terms of quality (I'm not sure it was a good idea).

I agree; I'm not sure it was a good idea either. But, then, I'm sure you
had compelling reasons.

> Since such  requests do
> in fact occur, it seems likely that from time to time an heir would
> want to terminate an agreement for an institution to use a copy
photograph.

Yes, but only in the same sense that an heir would want to rescind the
gift of an artifact that a deceased donor had made.

> Did your agreements state that the license to use photographs would
exist in
> perpetuity?

Sorry, I don't know exactly what the agreement actually says. But, as I
mentioned before the paperwork must be drawn up carefully to make it as
legally defendable as possible.

> Was there any procedure stipulated to facilitate rescinding the
> agreement?

Again, I don't know, but I doubt there is any mention of the possibility
of rescinding. The agreement should, in my opinion, be written in the
same terms as an artifact donation form.

> Since historic photographs have come to command big bucks on the
> market in recent years, the knowledge that an institution controls
> reproduction rights to a particular photograph might tend to lower the
sale potential of
> the original, so the seller might want to rescind an institution's
> reproduction or usage rights to copies of the image.

Well, in my scheme the institution does not control reproduction rights,
it simply has the right to reproduce the image as it sees fit. This
doesn't in any way limit the rights of the owner of the original. My own
take on the collecting market is that collectors are interested in the
value of the actual object as an artifact and not in the reproduction
rights (well, except for places like Corbis, of course).

Best.  David

David Haynes     [log in to unmask]      San Antonio

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