Ahem, copyright resides with the original creator, not someone who makes
a digital copy of an original work. Whoever made the original film owns
the copyright as I understand it. For a copy to be able to receive
copyright protection, it must exhibit some originality. It doesn't
sound to me like a digital copy has much to offer in originality - at
least that wouldn't be what I would want in a copy.
this email represents the sender's opinion which is not necessarily
that of her employer (NARA) nor the federal government of which NARA is
a part
In another position, when I took photos to a commercial photography
studio to have them reproduced I had them sign a document that they
would keep no copies of these. We might not own copyright but this let
it be known that I expected them to return any and all prints or
negatives or other copies that they made of "our" work to me. Later I
learned from them that their practice in the past had been to make copy
negs from which they then sold prints... Not a copyright issue but a
rights issue anyway.
There is a copyright list serve, too, that the OP may want to look
into. The discussions get pretty interesting.
>>> [log in to unmask] 12/27/2007 3:11 PM >>>
> I am wondering if any of you out there might have stories you would
be
> willing to share regarding copyright questions or legal problems
your
> museums (etc.) have encountered. I would of course be willing to
keep
> your
> information confidential, but would like to use some stories to
illustrate
> common problems.
I sent the following reply e-mail directly to Jamie, but I think I
would
like to ask for input from the list members on this copyright issue
that
arose in our small museum:
We were recently given a donation of a 16 mm film of our town's
1957
centennial parade. A local fireman found it in the (recycling center)
and he
hung onto it until this year, which is the town's 150th anniversary.
Before
he gave it to us, he took it to a local camera shop and they
transferred it
to DVD for him. He gave us both the original 16 mm film and the DVD of
the
movie -- and kept a DVD for himself. I reimbursed him (out of my own
pocket,
as we have negligible income), then accessioned the two items.
I showed the movie to the members of the town's sesquicentennial
committee and the town business administrator wanted to make copies to
sell
to residents. I told him that the camera store owner wanted $20 per
copy and
the administrator said he could get it done for $10 per copy. He then
asked
for the DVD we were given, so he could reproduce it. I balked and said
the
camera store owner may be the one who owns the rights to the content of
that
DVD and everyone argued that since WE own the original film, we have
the
rights.
I checked Marie Malaro's museum law book and she noted that the
issue is
not clear, but that one should protect one's rights by having the
person
doing the digital conversion sign something saying the museum owns the
rights to the digital version the convertor is about to create. Of
course,
the fireman did not have anyone sign anything, so the matter is
unresolved.
The township's attorneys did not feel it was an issue, by the way.
Right about the same time we had some maps in our collection
reproduced.
The photo reproduction shop photographed the maps, scanned their photo
of
them, cleaned them up, then printed them for us, on acid-free paper
with
UV-filtering inks. When he was done I was given a CD with the digital
version of the maps and I told the shop owner about the film question.
I
said "So, who owns the rights to the map CD you just gave me?" He
replied
"You do. You paid for it." I said "What if I took it to a photo
reproduction
shop down the street and asked them to reprint the maps from it,
because
they can do it for a lower cost?" He raised his voice and said "You
can't do
that! That's MY work!" I made my point.
Therefore, I will henceforth have everyone sign a form saying we own
the
rights to the digital version of the conversion.
Do you have a form you have the converter sign? Would you share it if
you
do?
Lynne Ranieri
Millburn-Short Hills Historical Society
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at
http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed
information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail
message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should
read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message
to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read
"Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
=========================================================
Important Subscriber Information:
The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes).
If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).
|
