On Mon, 17 Feb 1997, patricia l roath wrote:

:| If a museum contracts with a designer/patternmaker to draft a pattern (in
:| this case, a copy of a dress by an unknown tailor, c. 1885) and make a
:| subsequent reproduction of that pattern, then the museum owns the pattern
:| and the reproduction, as well as reproduction rights to images of the
:| dress itself.  But do they own the copyright to the pattern that is
:| drafted by the designer?  Or does the designer retain some rights?

Depends upon the terms of the contract, really.  In many cases the
museum would retain all rights with the exception being that the
artist being able to use the image/pattern for advertising purposes.

:|  Secondly, what if the designer contracts with a museum to make a
:| facsimile of a period garment--something used essentially as an
:| interpreter's costume.  Who owns the copyright to the pattern?  Is the
:| pattern considered in the same vein as a commissioned artwork?  In both
:| cases, the contract simply states that the designer submit the finished
:| work to the museum, and upon payment the work becomes the property of the
:| museum.

Whose boiler-plate is it?  If it is the museum's, you should
probably sit down and list all of the rights and assignations in
detail.  If it is the reproduction artist's contract, then you
should ask them for clarification (and consult with your legal staff
as to how you want to handle things).

Again, many reproduction artists would most likely want to keep a
sample (either a full-copy or photographs) of the finished product
for advertising purposes.

Hope this helps. :)

Rich Johnson
Director of Marketing
Cotton Expressions, Ltd.
Science, Science Humor, Nature and History Imprinted Apparel